On Friday, the Jets will interview three more candidates for their vacant coaching position.
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores spoke to the Jets virtually about their coaching role. Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley are also expected to talk to the team on Friday.
They will be the 13th, 14th and 15th candidates to interview for the position since Jets owner Woody Johnson fired Robert Saleh in October.
Flores, 43, is maybe the most fascinating candidate interviewed so far. He has previous head coaching experience after his three-year stint with the Dolphins (2019-21). A Brooklyn native, Flores led Miami to two winning seasons after the team completely stripped down its roster in 2019 and finished 5-11. Flores finished with a 24-25 record during his three seasons.
With both a general manager and coaching opening, the Jets would like to fill one of the vacancies with a person with prior experience. Of Johnson’s last five coaching hires (minus interim coach Jeff Ulbrich), only one of those (Adam Gase) had previous coaching experience.
Despite rebranding his coaching image after leaving the Dolphins, Flores has several red flags. Although his firing in 2021 after a 9-8 record was a surprise in league circles, Flores was dismissed mainly because of his deteriorating relationship with Dolphins GM Chris Grier and others within the organization. During his three seasons in Miami, Flores had four different offensive coordinators and two defensive coordinators.
Flores and Grier also had a strained relationship after a reported power struggle between him and the front office. That included quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who the team selected fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
After being an assistant coach in New England for 15 seasons, Flores has an authoritarian coaching style, which rubbed some players, including Tagovailoa, the wrong way. After a 10-6 season in 2020 and flip-flopping between Tagovailoa and Ryan Fitzpatrick, Flores appeared ready to acquire then-Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. That year, Fitzpatrick replaced Tagovailoa twice during the fourth quarter of games.
Last summer, Tagovailoa called Flores a “terrible person” and said the coach tore him down and hurt his confidence.
Last week, during his “Fitz & Whit” podcast, Fitzpatrick criticized Flores for handling Tagovailoa, claiming he “broke” the young quarterback.
“I think he’s going to have a really hard time,” Fitzpatrick said about Flores. “If you’re interviewing him as a head coach, I think in the interviews, he’ll be likable, he’ll be relatable.
“But when people say ‘Give me somebody from Miami that coached under you as a reference, so we can talk to them,’ I think he burned a lot of bridges there. I think he alienated himself from the entire staff. Instead of what you were just talking about, having the humility to ask questions to collaborate, I think by the end of his time here, he became a dictator.
“He ruined a lot of relationships that he built up through the NFL. And his ego grew so big that there wasn’t room for anyone else.”
Fitzpatrick later clarified his comments in a separate X post, saying he considers Flores a friend and believes he has learned a lot from his time with the Dolphins.
After being fired from Miami, Flores spent one season as the Steelers senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach before becoming the Vikings defensive coordinator in 2023. This was after he filed a lawsuit against the NFL and a handful of teams — including the Dolphins and Giants — alleging racial discrimination and NFL teams offering “fake” interviews to minority coaches. That legal process has yet to be completed.
This season, Minnesota (14-3) finished 16th in yards (335.4) and fifth in points allowed (19.5). Minnesota was first in interceptions (24), tied for first in takeaways (33) and second in rush defense (93.4 yards per game).
The Rams defeated the Vikings in the NFC wild card round on Monday night.
After hiring The 33rd Team in November, the Jets have cast a wide net in their search for a new coach and general manager following a disappointing 5-12 season. Between the two positions, they have interviewed 30 candidates.
Ron Rivera, Mike Vrabel, Rex Ryan, Matt Nagy, Aaron Glenn, Mike Locksley, Steve Spagnuolo, Darren Rizzi, Jeff Ulbrich, Vance Joseph, Arthur Smith and Bobby Slowik have all been interviewed for the Jets coaching position. Vrabel was hired as the Patriots’ coach on Jan. 12.