Top defensive coordinator candidate turns down Commanders, and fans should be concerned
The Commanders need to move on after Brian Flores officially turned them down, and they’ll be competing against other top teams.
The Washington Commanders are one of many teams still looking for a defensive coordinator, and their search just took a turn for the worse.
Things have been quiet lately while they wait for other dominoes to fall, but they did interview a lot of top candidates in the coaching cycle. The most notable interview was Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who they somehow got in the building while he interviewed for head coaching positions, but they couldn’t get a deal done.
The dream of Flores is officially over after he turned down the Commanders to stay in Minnesota, and fans should be worried.
Brian Flores signs a new deal with the Minnesota Vikings to stay the defensive coordinator
The Commanders were one of the only teams to get Flores in for an interview as the defensive coordinator, which shocked a lot of people. His connection with general manager Adam Peters from their many years together in New England as scouts seemed to play a big part, but it wasn’t enough to convince him to come to Washington.
After taking some time, Flores has signed a new deal with the Vikings to stay the defensive coordinator, but he’s still free to take any head coaching positions he’s offered.
Landing Flores did seem like a longshot and getting him in the building was encouraging, but seeing him turn down the Commanders just to stay a defensive coordinator should sting. Outside of Flores, the Commanders will have a real issue coming down the stretch of the search, and that’s the competition to land a top defensive coordinator.
Will the Commanders be able to beat out other teams for a top defensive coordinator?
The Commanders obviously aren’t the only team looking for a new defensive coordinator, so will they be able to beat out other teams? Candidates will have to want to come to Washington, where the defense was in the bottom three in the majority of categories last season. Teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, and many others are more attractive teams than the Commanders, so Washington needs to be aggressive and go after their guy.
Whether that’s Al Harris with the Chicago Bears or Karl Scott with the Seattle Seahawks, the Commanders need somebody who actually moves the needle for the defense, not a retread that Dan Quinn knows like Raheem Morris. This is a hire that will make or break the 2026 job, and could be the final straw for Quinn’s job security if he makes another underwhelming hire that fails.
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