Getty Image / Joel Auerbach
The Minnesota Vikings had a surprisingly good 2022 season. But, it didn’t end the way they would have liked.
The Purple and Gold went 13-4 this year, behind a strong offensive led by first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell. That offense, with Kirk Cousins under center and Justin Jefferson putting up a sensational season, was one of the league’s best.
And, the team thrived in close games. The Vikings were a remarkable 11-0 in the regular season in games decided by one score or less. But, that came crashing down in the playoffs, as they lost at home to the upstart New York Giants, 31-24.
Vikings won a million close games just to lose the first one in the playoffs
— CLARK (@oprahcrypto) January 16, 2023
The Vikings’ Achilles heel all year long was their defense. The unit was ranked 30th in scoring defense and was often torched by offenses it shouldn’t have been torched by, like the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts. So, O’Connell fired defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. But, he’s landed a big-time replacement.
Steelers’ assistant coach Brian Flores is accepting the Vikings’ defensive coordinator job, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 6, 2023
What a great hire. Flores, who coached with the Steelers last year as an assistant and was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins before that, is considered a defensive mastermind. He was even interviewing with head coaching jobs this offseason, but decided to not wait on the Arizona Cardinals to make their hire before taking a coordinator job.
Most Vikings fans are pretty fired up.
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
— Shahbaz Khan (@ShahbazMKhan) February 6, 2023
Hell Yeah!! I love the Brian Flores hire. Great job by KOC and Kwesi to get this deal done. SKOL! 👍👏💪
— Timothy K Slack (@TimothyKSlack3) February 6, 2023
It’s all over for everyone else pic.twitter.com/jrzxsbm7iJ
— kyle (@kyle_tone) February 7, 2023
This could be the missing piece for the Vikings to get to the Super Bowl in a wide-open NFC next year.