The Vikings formally introduced Brian Flores as their new defensive coordinator on Wednesday, and he didn't just win the news conference, he made sweet, harmonic music with his words.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell finds a defensive coordinator who shares his core beliefs
The hallmarks of Brian Flores' defense promise to be refreshing, though. There will be more blitzes, less predictability and a far greater commitment to being aggressive in every facet.
February 16, 2023 at 1:23AM
Vikings fans scarred by watching the train wreck on defense this past season had to feel giddy with the overall message Flores delivered.
"I'm aggressive by nature," he said.
Hallelujah!
"There's a method to the madness," he said.
Preach!
"I like to play an aggressive style," he said.
Hooray!
Hey, since we're on the subject, Brian, one last thing: 4-3 or 3-4 scheme?
"Who are we playing?" he shot back, before acknowledging that he will indeed operate a 3-4 scheme.
In sports, organizations and coaches tend to follow a general rule of hiring the opposite when making a change.
If the previous coach was regarded as being too easy on players, the next coach will act like a drill sergeant. If an ousted general manager was standoffish, the replacement GM will espouse the virtues of collaboration.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell fired defensive coordinator Ed Donatell after one season and found the opposite of his passive, risk-averse philosophy. A Flores-led defense will never be accused of being passive.
Two essential observations about the change in coordinators and expectations: O'Connell clearly committed to honest self-reflection in evaluating the failure of Donatell's lone season, and while Flores brings a proven track record as a defensive architect, this will not be an overnight fix.
O'Connell made a mistake in hiring Donatell as a rookie head coach. Or at the very least, a disconnect existed in O'Connell's vision for how the defense should function and Donatell's application of the scheme. It wasn't until late in the season that O'Connell showed more forcefulness in his public comments about adjustments he wanted to see from that unit.
The overarching theme of the Flores news conference was that he and O'Connell share mutual football philosophies. Flores described it as being in alignment. O'Connell noted that he outlined his vision for an aggressive approach at his own introductory news conference a year ago.
"It was a football philosophy; it was not an offensive philosophy," he said. "[It's] staying true to that philosophy in a way where our players live it and breathe it and when they get out on the field, they're flying around playing fast because they've got that confidence in what we're trying to do."
This wasn't just standard coachspeak. This was a head coach acknowledging that his own team deviated from that philosophy in a fundamental way that could not be scrubbed away by 13 wins and a division title. So O'Connell learned from it and went about fixing it.
It might be tempting to dump all the blame at Donatell's feet, but surely the team's brain trust knows better. The Vikings fielded inept defenses in consecutive seasons. Two different coordinators. Two different schemes. Two bad defenses.
That's a reflection of personnel deficiencies as well.
The defense is aging and slow which, when combined with being passive, is a losing algorithm. Perhaps Flores' scheme and aggressive nature will allow the defense to play faster, but the roster badly needs an infusion of young talent.
Flores deserves to have a prominent voice in personnel decisions — who fits, who doesn't and what kind of characteristics he desires at each individual position.
Flores is a former NFL head coach who will get another shot to run a team at some point, perhaps in the next year or two. Until that time comes, his charge is to fix a defense that prevented the Vikings from being a realistic threat in the playoffs.
Improvement will happen — there's only one way to go, right? — but getting the right personnel to fit the scheme takes time, not something that is accomplished in one offseason.
The hallmarks of Flores' defense promise to be refreshing, though. There will be more blitzes, less predictability, and a far greater commitment to being aggressive in every facet.
The operation will align with the head coach's core beliefs in how football should be played. O'Connell won't make that same mistake twice.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
