The New York Jets interviewed Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley on Friday for their head coach vacancy.
The trio increased the list to 15 coaching candidates to meet with the Jets, who have also conducted 15 interviews for their general manager job.
The 43-year-old Flores has been running Minnesota's defense the last two seasons after a stint as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach for Pittsburgh in 2022. That came after he was Miami's head coach for three years, going 24-25 with the Dolphins and making no postseason appearances before being fired.
On Feb. 1, 2022, Flores filed a federal lawsuit against the league, the Dolphins, the Giants and the Denver Broncos. Flores, who is Black, alleged racist hiring practices for leadership positions across the NFL.
Last week, Flores said he would continue to pursue his goal of being a head coach again in the league, but added that he has enjoyed his time with the Vikings, ''so it would have to be the right situation to leave for me and my family.''
He added that he would accept any requests this offseason from teams interested in hiring him as a head coach. In addition to the Jets, the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars are expected to interview Flores for their coaching vacancies.
''It's no different to me than any other interview setting in any other industry: Is the vibe, is the energy, is the connection something that you think will be an environment that you can predict that will be a winning environment?'' Flores said last week. ''There's a lot of people involved in that and there's a synergy you have to have, so I'm kind of looking for that type of synergy also.''
New York has also interviewed Aaron Glenn, Vance Joseph, Mike Locksley, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, Darren Rizzi, Rex Ryan, Bobby Slowik, Arthur Smith, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Ulbrich and Mike Vrabel for the job. Vrabel has since been hired by New England as its coach.
