Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell confidently comments on the future of defensive coordinator Brian Flores

Kevin O’Connell knows how important defensive coordinator Brian Flores is to the Vikings and made it known on Tuesday.

Tyler Forness NFL & College Football News Writer
Add as preferred source on Google
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell looks on in the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings are still waiting on defensive coordinator Brian Flores to make a decision on what he wants to do with his future. His contract is set to expire on Wednesday, Jan. 14th and the Vikings have been working on getting an extension done.

That has yet to happen, which would allow other NFL teams to discuss Flores being their defensive coordinator.

Kevin O’Connell comments on Brian Flores’ contract situation

It was initially thought that Flores would be one of the first questions for head coach Kevin O’Connell. It ended up being one of the last ones, but we got a detailed answer.

“I don’t particularly take it any, any kind of way, whether it was trying to get something done in training camp, trying to get out in front of this period before people would be able to talk to him about a similar role with their teams,” said O’Connell. “You don’t see a lot of players signing in free agency before free agency starts, sometimes because they want to know what their market is, and they want to be able to totally clarify that we’re very much being aggressive to try to get something done with him.

“But at the same time, [we] want to be respectful and make sure he can go through whatever process, whether it is for a total clarity and commitment to the head coaching process. But I don’t have, based upon my conversations, I think I shared this the last time we were able to speak, I have a lot of confidence we’re going to be able to get something done with him as our defensive coordinator.”

The Vikings have been very active in trying to get a deal done with Flores. It hasn’t happened yet, but that could come quickly with his contract expiring. Hopefully, clarity comes sooner than later for Flores and the Vikings, who remain confident that he will return next season.