{"id":683412,"date":"2026-01-17T04:31:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T04:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/683412\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T04:31:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T04:31:27","slug":"new-mn-vikings-dc-candidate-emerges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/683412\/","title":{"rendered":"New MN Vikings DC Candidate Emerges"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"RaheemCredit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

It sounds like there is something going on behind the scenes<\/a> between the Minnesota Vikings and their defensive coordinator from 2023-2025, Brian Flores, who is out flirting with other teams<\/a> this week, as an unrestricted NFL coach free agent, interviewing for open head coach and defensive coordinator jobs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At this point, it would surprise nobody if Flores moves on. And if that that indeed happens, Minnesota will need to scramble in order to replace one of the most important figures in the entire organization.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings could target Raheem Morris<\/p>\n

Replacing Brian Flores will be tough, but Alec Lewis<\/a> (The Athletic) has an exciting candidate on deck for the Vikings, should B-Flo fly the coop.<\/p>\n

Not only is Raheem Morris available, after being fired as Atlanta\u2019s head coach earlier this offseason, but he has previously coached with Kevin O\u2019Connell and already has relationships with multiple other coaches on Minnesota\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n

Morris would definitely be in play [as Vikings defensive coordinator]\u2026He and O\u2019Connell worked together with the Rams in 2021. Morris was most recently the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, who drastically improved their defense this season (from 30th in DVOA in 2024 to 15th in 2025) with the addition of Jeff Ulbrich as defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n

Morris is charismatic. He has relationships with some of the Vikings\u2019 other defensive coaches, too. The fit makes sense. But there\u2019s one important question to consider: How much of a role did he play in the defensive improvement in Atlanta, compared to Ulbrich\u2019s influence on the schematic shifts and play calling?<\/p>\n

The Athletic<\/a><\/p>\n

Brian Flores has risen to stardom among defensive coordinators. His defensive scheme is largely why the Minnesota Vikings finished with a 9-8 record<\/a> in 2025, despite unrelenting injuries and poor quarterback play. But he was also the unquestioned governor of that side of the football, leaving KOC to focus solely on offense.<\/p>\n

The next Minnesota Vikings coordinator must be able to preside over the defense as well, without much help from the head coach. With his previous experience, Raheem Morris would seemingly fit that description perfectly, <\/p>\n

Why the Vikings would rather just keep Brian Flores<\/p>\n

Prior to Brian Flores joining the Minnesota Vikings, the defense was in shambles. Ed Donatell\u2019s crash out quite literally earned Daniel Jones a payday from the New York Giants. From 2020 through 2022<\/a>, Minnesota owned a bottom-five defensive unit when it came to both points and yardage.<\/p>\n

Flores, over his three seasons with the Vikings, has pushed things forward each season. After owning the 5th-best defense in terms of points allowed during 2024<\/a>, Flores pushed the group into the top ten in multiple categories. That output is again having him considered in this coaching cycle.<\/p>\n

Minnesota can\u2019t afford to let one area slip as they attempt to get over the hump. Kevin O\u2019Connell is still seeking his first playoff win, and keeping the side of the ball in which he doesn\u2019t focus dialed in is a must.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned in this article: Brian Flores<\/a> Raheem Morris<\/a> <\/p>\n

More About: Minnesota Vikings<\/a><\/p>\n

Add MinnesotaSportsFan as a preferred source on Google.\"Add<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images It sounds like there is something going on behind the scenes between the Minnesota…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2073],"tags":[6696,7,233,259,2529,6,2663,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-683412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-brian-flores","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-vikings","12":"tag-minnesotavikings","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-raheem-morris","15":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115908568581416505","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}