Is the NFL ready to give Brian Flores a second chance? — Andscape

“In life there are instances where you can either have control or you can have growth. And you can’t have both.” — Pastor Brian Edmonds, Macedonia Church of Pittsburgh

Three weeks into a new NFL season, rejuvenation and reinvention has emerged in Minnesota where Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has become the epicenter of a great redemption story.

Darnold, on his fourth NFL team, heads into Week 4 second in the league in passer rating, first in touchdown passes, fifth in yards per attempt and has only had two interceptions in three games.

After three disappointing seasons with the New York Jets, Darnold was shipped off to the Carolina Panthers, and after a disappointing run in Carolina he ended up was the San Francisco 49ers as a backup.

While Darnold’s performance so far has been a revelation, the most significant story in the NFL may be on the other side of the ball in Minnesota, where defensive coordinator Brian Flores has molded the Vikings into one of the most dominant defenses in the league.

Heading into Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, Flores has become the talk of the league, and the praise has been pouring in about his unique — some might call it revolutionary — style of defense. In the first three weeks of the season, the Vikings lead the NFL in sacks (11) and quarterback hits (19) and are tied for the league lead in quarterback pressures with 36. The Vikings are third in points allowed. After 23-17 loss to the Vikings on Sept. 15, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy met Flores on the field and told him, “Your scheme is crazy.”

But there is a difference between Darnold’s story of redemption and Flores’ story which could be called a quest for vindication. While Darnold is doing something that he has never done in his NFL career, Flores is doing what everybody knew he could do, indeed what he is expected to do. He is a ferocious, no-nonsense defensive coordinator who has put his mark on the early season.

The larger question hovering over Flores is whether he will get a second opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL.

Flores is not your average coaching candidate. Not only has he already been an NFL coach, but he’s taken on the league and had the courage to sue it over the long-standing issue of hiring African American coaches.

In February 2022, Flores filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL, alleging racial discrimination. His allegations included specific claims against the New York Giants, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, and later he was joined by two more former NFL coaches. Today, most of the lawsuit is in NFL arbitration.

There was immediate speculation that Flores would be treated like former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was essentially blackballed by team owners from ever playing in the league again after he protested by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016. But there is a significant difference. Kaepernick used his platform to bring attention to injustices outside of the arena. Among the issues were police violence and economic injustice.

Flores, on the other hand, was simply challenging the NFL to live up to its vow to give fair and equal treatment to African Americans who aspired to be coaches.

No matter what the Vikings defense does this year under Flores’ guidance, his lawsuit hangs overhead.

“I think common sense will suggest as long as the suit is out there, it’s going to be in the back of people’s mind, if not in the forefront,” Rod Graves, executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, said during a phone interview on Wednesday. Since its formation in 2003, the Fritz Pollard Alliance has fought vigorously, especially for promotion of African Americans as coaches and front-office executives in the NFL.

Whether Flores gets another head coaching job is a referendum on how long the league chooses to carry a grudge — or whether it will carry a grudge at all and simply commit to doing the right thing.

“The mere fact that he is coaching in the National Football League is a positive sign that the league has moved on and in fact is willing to move on,” Graves said.

​Flores coached the Miami Dolphins from 2019 to 2021. After Flores filed his suit, he was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as senior defensive assistant. I spoke to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin a few months ago and he said that the hiring of Flores was not simply done because Flores was an exceptional defensive mind but because he could not stand by and watch Flores be blackballed.

“If I didn’t hire that guy, man, would he be employable now?” Tomlin said.

Flores interviewed with the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns before accepting the position with the Vikings in February 2023.

During his introductory news conference with the Vikings, Flores was asked about his lawsuit. Although he did not go into detail, he did say, “Obviously, diversity is important to me as well. I’m not going to run away from that. But when I walk in this building, you see diversity, really, across the board in every department. That’s exciting too. So, those are things that are ongoing. Obviously, the lawsuit is ongoing, but I’m where my feet are. Right now, my feet are right here in Eden.”

The subject came up again this spring when Flores faced reporters in Minnesota. He was asked whether he had participated in the latest rounds of coaching interviews, which resulted in four African American coaches being hired.

“I did not and I don’t really have control over that situation,” he said. “I will say I’m very happy where I am. It’s been a great offseason. I haven’t spent this much time with my family in an offseason in a while without a move. It’s been a while, but to answer your question, I didn’t. But I’m in a great spot, I’m very happy and I’m excited to work with our guys right now and also coach my boys as well.”

​Did he think the lack of opportunities had anything to do with his lawsuit? 

“There’s no way to know,” he said. “It’s not really something I’m spending a lot of time thinking about. I try to be where my feet are, it’s here with the Vikings. I try not to worry about things I have no control over and focus on the things I do have control over, or some of the things that I have some control over, like putting plans together for these players, for this team, and doing the best I can where I’m at.”

​In so many words, Flores said he still wanted to be a coach. “I just do the best I can where I’m at. And wherever the chips fall, they fall,” he said. “There’s a lot of great coaches in this league. So, I think it’s all I can do is prepare, do the right way, do the best I can do, help this team as much as I can, and I let the chips fall where they fall.”

In his three seasons in Miami, Flores had two winning seasons and there were reported conflicts with the front office and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. We did not know the extent of the rift with Tagovailoa until Aug. 19, when Tagovailoa unloaded on Flores on a podcast and went so far as to say Flores was a “terrible person.”

Tagovailoa aired a number of grievances with Flores. The bottom line was that Flores was not as supportive and nurturing as he would have liked. Flores responded to Tagovailoa in his own news conference shortly after the podcast aired. He said he was happy for Tagovailoa and wished him well.

“Look, I’m human,” Flores told reporters. “So, that hit me in a way that I wouldn’t say was positive for me. But at the same time, I’ve got to use that and say, ‘Hey, how can I grow from that, or how can I be better?’ And that’s really where I’m at from that standpoint.

“Do I feel like that’s me? No. But how can I grow from that situation and create a world where that’s not the case where anyone says that about Brian Flores?”

Perhaps Flores’ decision to go to Minnesota reflected an understanding that there was still room for growth, something he alluded to when he referred to the pastor in Pittsburgh who said “you can either have control or you can have growth. And you can’t have both.”

In May, Flores participated in something the NFL calls its accelerator program. which brings potential coaching candidates in contact with former general managers in a series of mock interviews. Graves was there and the feedback he received about Flores was impressive.

“He was outstanding. I mean, in every way he was outstanding,” Graves said. “And the part I think that touched me more than anything was how humble he was and how candid he was about lessons learned.

“When he came through the door, there was no hint of anger, bitterness. He didn’t give the sense that he deserved something or anything along those lines.”

Graves said they didn’t discuss Flores’ lawsuit. “He just wanted to come in and demonstrate that he was ready to lead and very capable of providing the type of leadership for the head coach position and he did that,” Graves said.

There is a very long way to go in this NFL season for Darnold and Flores. The quarterback is seeking career redemption, the coach is seeking justice for himself and future Black coaches.

If Flores receives a second opportunity to be an NFL coach, his hiring will be truly significant and will be a major milestone in the league’s conflicted relationship with hiring Black coaches.

“It would be an indication that the league is in a different place,” Graves said. “If he’s able to get back into the chair, then I think we’ve got to recognize that as substantial improvement. The question of whether or not it gets us to where we need to be for consistency, will remain to be seen.”

There is a long season to go and a very steep mountain to climb for Darnold and Flores. But there is also a burden of proof for the league.

We often talk about the importance of second chances. In the case of Flores, a second opportunity would also be a pivotal benchmark for the NFL.