An intriguing possibility has come up as we enter this year’s NFL general manager/head coach hiring cycle — one that would strip the Vikings of a couple valuable employees. The idea is that Vikings senior vice president of player personnel Ryan Grigson and defensive coordinator Brian Flores could potentially be hired as a GM/HC package deal by one of the teams in need of a new regime.
Over at The Athletic, Mike Silver wrote a great deep-dive article on Grigson and Flores, two men who previously held leading roles in the league and whose hard-nosed leadership styles and interpersonal skills may have contributed to their firings. The two have become close in Minnesota since Flores was hired two years ago, and they’ve seemingly grown quite a bit since their previous tenures ended in dysfunction.
“Both Flores and Grigson say they’ve evolved, clinging to their core principles — an insistence on being driven and exacting — while smoothing out their messaging styles and broadening their perspectives.”
Grigson, who was the Colts’ GM from 2012-16, recently received a request to interview for the Jets’ opening. Flores, the Dolphins’ head coach from 2019-21, has already received requests to interview for the Jets, Bears, and Jaguars’ vacancies, and the Raiders and Patriots could also be interested.
The Jets and the Raiders are the two teams with openings at both head coach and general manager in this cycle. If one of those two were to hire Grigson, they’d presumably do so with the knowledge that Flores would be among his top choices at head coach. It’s a long shot, to be certain, but it’s also a possibility that could come up again next offseason if both men return to the Vikings in 2025.
“I like Ryan Grigson,” NFL super agent Drew Rosenhaus said this week on The Pat McAfee Show. “I’ve seen him work with the Vikings. Coach Flores is a stud. If someone can get Grigson and Flores as a package, you’re gonna win.”
Grigson’s name carries a negative connotation with Colts fans because of the narrative that he led to Andrew Luck’s early retirement by failing to properly protect Indianapolis’ franchise quarterback. But he was 49-31 in the regular season as a GM, making three playoff appearances. Since his firing in 2017, he had stints in the Browns and Seahawks’ front offices before joining Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s Vikings staff in 2022.
In Minnesota, Adofo-Mensah raves about Grigson, who played a key role in the Vikings’ incredible free agent haul this past offseason. Having grown a lot as a person and executive in the eight years since the Colts fired him, the 52-year-old Grigson may end up with another opportunity to sit in the GM chair before long.
If one of the two is going to get a second chance this offseason, Flores appears to have better odds. He’s set to interview with three of the six teams with head coach openings, and that doesn’t include the Patriots (where he spent the first 15 years of his NFL career) and the Raiders (whose part-owner Tom Brady knows him well from their time together in New England).
Questions remain about Flores’ ongoing lawsuit against the league and his handling of QB Tua Tagovailoa in Miami, but he too has grown quite a bit since being fired. He spent the 2022 season with Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh and has now been around Kevin O’Connell for two years, learning a lot about leadership styles in the process. Flores’ Vikings players all love him, and the incredible results of his two years as Minnesota’s DC speak for themselves. By all accounts, he’s earned another opportunity to lead a team, whether that comes this year or further down the line.
And it would be pretty fitting if Flores and Grigson happened to team up for their second chances.
“If and when Grigson gets that opportunity — and if and when there’s an accompanying head coaching vacancy — Flores would likely be on his short list of candidates,” Silver wrote. “The two men have had conversations detailing how they erred in their past jobs and assessing what they wish they’d done differently, and they’ve discovered plenty of parallels.”
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