Vikings' Brian Flores says he will take every interview request - ESPN

EAGAN, Minn. — Brian Flores is embracing his return to the NFL's coaching carousel, three years after his tumultuous firing as coach of the Miami Dolphins.

As he nears the end of his second season as the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator, Flores said Tuesday that he will take every interview requested. ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported requests from two teams so far: the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets.

Flores admitted he also has interest in the New England Patriots' open position, after spending the first 15 years of his NFL career there, and explained some of the ways he believes he has grown — particularly in how he would handle an offense — since his time in Miami.

«It's an honor, certainly, that I definitely don't take that lightly,» Flores said of receiving interview requests. «I look forward to having those conversations and talking to people about my football journey, my leadership journey.»

Flores, 43, took multiple head coaching interviews in 2022 after the Dolphins fired him. But he received no offers and subsequently sued the NFL and several teams, alleging discrimination regarding his interview processes with the Denver Broncos and New York Giants, and his firing by the Dolphins.

The NFL stripped the Dolphins of their 2023 first-round draft pick, among other disciplinary measures, after an investigation into accusations of tampering that surfaced in Flores' lawsuit. The lawsuit itself is still working its way through the legal system and the NFL's arbitration process.

The lawsuit claimed that some NFL teams conduct «sham interviews» that are scheduled solely to comply with the league's Rooney Rule, which now requires teams to talk to multiple candidates with diverse backgrounds. Flores did not