The Vikings defensive coordinator was a finalist for several jobs last offseason, and while Flores, formerly the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, would like another chance at being an NFL head coach, his mind is solely on Minnesota at the moment.
Addressing the chatter surrounding his head coaching candidacy for the upcoming offseason, Flores said his focus is on the final five weeks, which will be pivotal to the Vikings’ playoff chances.
“I understand the question, I really do. My message to our guys yesterday was we’ve got 35 guaranteed days. That’s all we got that’s guaranteed. I asked them to put everything into these 35 days,” Flores said in a December 6 news conference. “I can’t give that message and not heed that message. My focus is on these guys, this team, these next five games because that’s all we really have. I understand the question, but that’s where my focus is.”
He was asked whether he makes intentional decisions to help him avoid looking ahead to the offseason, like telling his agent to not mention the head coaching buzz.
“Yeah, they know not to bring it up,” Flores said with a smirk.The Vikings had plenty of opportunities to throw in the towel this season, between starting 0-3 and losing Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson for the majority of the season.
Instead, Minnesota went on a five-game winning streak after Jefferson landed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, including getting two improbable wins with Josh Dobbs after Cousins went down for the season.
Two losses decided on the final drives in back-to-back weeks before their bye have put the Vikings at 6-6 on the season with a 44% chance of making the postseason, per The Upshot’s playoff prediction engine.
Facing the Detroit Lions (9-3) twice and the resurgent Green Bay Packers (6-6) squad in the final three weeks of the season will have heavy sway in the playoff race, prompting Flores to keep his defense engaged for the final stretch of the season.
“All the other stuff, I asked them to block it out, and I’m blocking it out myself because I think you got to lead by example. I know that that’s out there, I’m not blind to any of that. But I’m really focused on the task at hand. Like I said, my message to those guys was: We got five weeks. Let’s put everything into these five weeks and not come out of it with any regrets and saying, ‘Hey my focus is on this so it wasn’t on you guys,’ Flores added. “I think these guys work too hard, they’ve put a lot into the season already. I understand the question, but that is really not where I’m at right now.”
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