Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have requested an interview with Minnesota Vikings defense coordinator and former Steelers senior defensive assistant Brian Flores, according to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Flores, 44, has spent the last three seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. He took that job after one season in Pittsburgh as the senior defensive assistant under Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin.
Before his time in Pittsburgh, Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-21. His acrimonious departure from Miami, followed up a lawsuit against the league alleging racially biased mistreatment of head coaching candidates, made it seem to many that Flores would never coach in the league again.
The Steelers’ job was the start of a lifeline for him, and he followed that up by excelling in Minnesota. In 2022, the Vikings finished 28th in scoring defense under Ed Donatell. That shot up to 13th in Flores’ first year in 2023, fifth last year and seventh the year before.
Before his time with the Dolphins, Flores spent his entire coaching career with the New England Patriots, where he won four Super Bowls on Bill Belichick’s staff, moving up from special teams assistant to safeties and linebackers coach.
Flores has also interviewed with the Baltimore Ravens for their head coaching job in this cycle.
So far, the Steelers have requested five interviews, with Los Angles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase joined by four defensive coaches: Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and Flores.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Request Interview with former Assistant Brian Flores
