Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have scheduled an in-person interview next week with Minnesota Vikings defense coordinator and former Steelers senior defensive assistant Brian Flores, according to a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
That is the first in-person interview to be reported for the Steelers. Monday is the first day the team can interview coaches of playoff teams in person. They had two virtual interviews scheduled for Friday, and two more for Saturday.
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.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Schedule In-Person Interview with Brian Flores
