So Brian Flores is now the highest paid Defensive Coordinator in the history of the NFL.


Brian Flores has signed a new contract with the Minnesota Vikings, making him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the NFL at over $6 million per season.

Contract Details
Extension Confirmation: Brian Flores has officially signed a contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings, as confirmed by the team. This extension comes after his previous contract expired, allowing him to negotiate a new deal.

Financial Terms: The new contract reportedly pays Flores more than $6 million per year, surpassing the previous highest salary for a coordinator, which was held by Vic Fangio at $4.5 million. This significant financial commitment reflects the Vikings' confidence in Flores' abilities as a defensive strategist.

Two key items that inquiring minds want to know:  
1)  How many years is the contract term?
2)  Did this delay in negotiating BFlo's contract have anything to do with KAM's eventual firing?

The first answer should be black and white, but I cannot find it.
The second answer...I doubt anyone would openly acknowledge it if it did.  But still...

We streamed this last night and all I can say is wow! What an entertaining couple of hours. Great plot (plot twist), music, dancing, acting etc..

Best picture nominated and a rare 100/% on rotten tomatoes. Watch it past the end credits to get the final ending....

This isn’t the “offseason” for NFL general managers.

It’s their season.

Yet the Vikings decided to fire their GM, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, on Jan. 30 after four years at the helm. Co-owner Mark Wilf cited this offseason being “critical” as the reason for making the decision.

It’s a critical offseason because coach Kevin O’Connell needs to chart a course toward his first playoff win in Year 5, and the team needs to hit on eight (or more) draft picks after struggling to select young and cost-controlled talent under Adofo-Mensah.

Rob Brzezinski, the team’s executive vice president of football operations and longtime salary cap guru, takes over on a interim basis a front office that will need his talents to cut costs after fielding the NFL’s most expensive roster in 2025. Wilf summarized the team’s focus as lying on “supplementing” the roster in free agency while needing to hit on the upcoming draft capital.

Here are the key dates to know on the Vikings’ calendar.

Jan. 31: The NFL world, including Vikings scouts, descended onto Mobile, Ala., over the past week for the annual series of Senior Bowl practices and the top college all-star game that is played on Saturday, Jan. 31.

Feb. 17: The franchise and transition tag window opens until March 3. The Vikings last used a tag to retain a player in 2020, when safety Anthony Harris was coming off a league-leading six interceptions during the 2019 season.

Feb. 23–March 2: The NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, where scouts, coaches and medical staffers meet with the top draft-eligible prospects for athletic and strength testing, as well as interviews and medical evaluations.

March 9-11: During this free agency negotiating window, the Vikings’ current 15 unrestricted free agents can enter contract talks with other teams. Those pending free agents include receiver Jalen Nailor, punter Ryan Wright and linebacker Eric Wilson.

March 11: NFL free agency opens at 3 p.m. Central time. Restricted free agents become unrestricted at this time if not given a tender. The Vikings currently have two RFAs: linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. and tight end Ben Sims. The lowest-level RFA tender (a one-year contract) is a projected $3.5 million for next season.

March 13: A few veteran Vikings get partial salary guaranteed if they are still rostered on this date, including defensive tackle Jonathan Allen ($8 million), edge rusher Jonathan Greenard ($4 million) and running back Aaron Jones Sr. ($2 million).

April 15: This is the final day NFL teams can host draft-eligible players at their facilities. Every team gets 30 official pre-draft visitors often referred to as “Top 30 visits.” It’s not actually the team’s top 30 ranked players, but rather players with lingering questions that can range from medical to character.

April 20: The Vikings can begin the 2026 offseason workout program on this date, as can all NFL teams with returning head coaches..

April 23-25: The NFL draft will be held in Pittsburgh. The Vikings currently have eight picks, but they are projected to get another third-round selection through the compensatory pick formula.

May 1: The deadline to decide on receiver Jordan Addison’s 2027 fifth-year option that will cost a projected $17.5 million, which is fully guaranteed, according to OvertheCap.com.


STRIB

The Vikings hired two coaches for Brian Flores’ defensive staff on Saturday, Jan. 31, while making two changes to their offensive staff designed to help their run game and reboot their offensive front.

According to a source with knowledge of the moves, the Vikings hired former Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith as their assistant head coach, bringing him in for a key role shaping the run game after his time with Mike McDaniel in Miami. 

The Vikings promoted assistant offensive line coach Keith Carter to their top offensive line coach job and hired two veteran coaches — Ryan Nielsen and Gerald Alexander — for their defensive line and defensive backs coaches jobs.

Smith played a key role in constructing a Dolphins run game in Miami that ranked sixth in the league in 2023, as Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achance helped the Dolphins lead the league in offensive yards that season. 

In Minnesota, he’ll likely give a boost to the Vikings’ run game, while using his offensive line background to help Carter take over a group that continued to struggle in 2025 after a major series of offseason investments.

Carter received the only internal promotion in the group, replacing Chris Kuper as the offensive line coach after the Vikings decided not to renew Kuper’s contract. The 2025 season was Carter’s first in Minnesota, after seven seasons with the Titans and Jets. The Vikings used more than 20 different offensive line combinations last season, while center Ryan Kelly navigated a series of concussions and left tackle Christian Darrisaw tried to return from his 2024 knee surgery. Players in Tennessee and New York criticized Carter’s coaching style, but his first season in Minnesota helped him get the promotion once he’d had a chance to articulate his vision for the offensive line in an interview for the job.

Nielsen had interviewed for the Vikings’ defensive coordinator job in 2023 before the team hired Flores; the longtime Saints defensive line coach was the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator in 2024 before he was fired as part of Doug Pederson’s staff in Jacksonville. He’ll replace Marcus Dixon, who had interviewed for other jobs this offseason after his contract in Minnesota expired.

Nielsen will also be the Vikings’ defensive run game coordinator, while Alexander gets the defensive pass game coordinator title added to his job. Alexander had been Flores’ defensive backs coach in Miami during his final two years as the Dolphins head coach, before moving to Pittsburgh with Flores as part of Mike Tomlin’s staff in 2022. He was the Raiders’ safety coach in 2024 before returning to Pittsburgh as the defensive backs coach in 2025.

Alexander replaces Daronte Jones, who was hired as the Commanders’ defensive coordinator this week. The Vikings could also look for an assistant defensive backs coach to replace Michael Hutchings, who left to become Cal’s defensive coordinator.

Assistant head coach Mike Pettine, who had been with the Vikings since O’Connell took over as head coach in 2022, retired after the 2025 season.

STRIB

The Seattle Seahawks responded Friday night to reports the franchise will be put up for sale after Super Bowl LX.

A spokesman for the estate of late Seahawks owner Paul G. Allen said in a statement to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport: "We don't comment on rumors or speculation, and the team is not for sale. We've already said that will change at some point per Paul's wishes, but I have no news to share.

"Our focus right now is winning the Super Bowl and completing the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers in the coming months."

ESPN's Seth Wickersham and Brady Henderson reported earlier Friday that the Seahawks will "go up for sale after Super Bowl LX," and that "sale discussions have taken place at ownership and league levels for at least the past week."

Wickersham and Henderson reported that one NFL executive told ESPN the Seahawks would draw in $7 billion to $8 billion in a potential sale.

The Seahawks were valued at $6.7 billion as of last August by Forbes.

The franchise has been owned by Allen's estate since he died in October 2018. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported in November 2018 that Allen had planned to have the proceeds from the Seahawks' sale benefit his charity, the Paul G. Allen Foundation.

Estate trustee Jody Allen said in July 2022 that estates the size of Allen's "can take 10 to 20 years to wind down," and that "there is no pre-ordained timeline by which the teams must be sold.".

The Trail Blazers were officially put up for sale in May 2025, and the Allen estate formally agreed to sell the team in September 2025.

The Blazers are now in the process of being sold for a valuation of more than $4 billion to Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon.

If the Seahawks are ultimately put up for sale this year, Wickersham and Henderson reported it would be the first immediate sale of an NFL team that had just made a championship game since the Super Bowl era began in 1967.

Bleacher Report

...how KOC feels about JJ McCarthy. If he brings in someone like Kyler Murray or takes a swing on someone like Malik Willis, then he is deadly serious about a true QB competition. You can bag on Murray all you'd like, and I'm not saying necessarily I'm a huge fan, but like MB said in another thread the kid is talented. He's 28 years old. JJM's contract is rookie so him sliding to QB2 is no big deal at all if he were to lose a true QB competition. If KOC still feels strongly that JJM is The Man for the franchise with more reps and game play, that will also be evident here in another month+. But having said that, bringing in some TRUE QB competition for JJ is going to be expensive. Does that make sense to do at the detriment of filling other holes through free agency? I don't know.

Countless rumors and baseless horseshit is saturating social media currently, but the rubber will meet the road soon enough. KOC will have more influence and I'm sure he and the new GM will be in lock step with the QB direction. Don't expect to glean anything in any upcoming pressers with O'Connell, you'll only get Coachspeak. I will only trust the actions, not the commentary or the online 'insiders'. The nice part is it won't take long to know.

WOWSA...I'm a little shocked still.  Do the Wilfs frequent these boards?



https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/onsi/news...ofo-mensah


https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4777...-4-seasons

Shane Tuttle
@ShaneTuttleNCAA
·
17h
Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson are reportedly no longer dating.

Take it for what it's worth, but today's Purple DaIly podcast had an anonymous poster report that he lived in the New England area and ran into a "well known draft commentator" recently (obviously someone at ESPN) and he asked him what he thought about the draft for the Vikings. This commentator responded with "corner, defensive line, safety" but also heard the Vikings were sniffing around offensive tackles in this draft and had heard Christian Darrisaw's name floated as a potential trade candidate that could land the Vikings an additional 1st round pick.  Go to the 19 minute mark in the video.

https://youtu.be/QgEK-BRi5p8?si=aQuiMm30W59xps3v

It's reckless speculation for a reason but it does make some sense. I said a month ago on here to not eliminate offensive tackle as a potential first round target. The whole Darrisaw thing this year was beyond weird and Judd touches on all that. To me the biggest thing is....is he damaged goods at this point? Just another thing to keep an eye on this offseason

Steelers expected to hire top offensive line coach

In what's been an eventful day for Mike McCarthy's coaching staff with the Pittsburgh Steelers, another hire is expected to be made.

According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, the Steelers are reportedly set to hire offensive line coach James Campen, who served under McCarthy with the Packers from 2007-2018.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/steele...55687.html