Over the past two seasons, the Minnesota Vikings have built toward having a beautiful machine on both sides of the ball. Kevin O’Connell assembled a gundam on offense so powerful that Sam Darnold was able to pilot it while producing the ninth-most points in the NFL. Meanwhile, Brian Flores proved that, when his system was paired with gamebreakers like Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, he could field a top-five unit.
We’re now heading into Year 3 of the Vikings having O’Connell commanding the offense and Flores orchestrating the defense. Both coaches can be credibly called “geniuses” of their craft. And three years is a long time to keep two highly respected, creative minds on both sides of the ball. Only one guy can have the head coaching gig, and NFL teams are eager to sign the next big thing.
O’Connell isn’t going anywhere, of course, but the Vikings are fortunate that Flores hasn’t, either. Flores was a head coach with two winning seasons out of three, and he has one of the most feared defensive schemes in the NFL. Someone like that is usually a hot commodity, but despite interviewing for three head coaching gigs this offseason, Flores is back in Minneapolis. It’s interesting to speculate why.
Having someone at Flores’ level here for a third year is an incredible opportunity, one they can’t count on for Year 4. This might be it.
Everything is converging for the Vikings’ defense to be at its absolute peak during this competitive window. Minnesota spent a significant portion of its flexibility addressing what was arguably the missing piece: the interior pass rush. Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave add Pro Bowl bona fides up the middle, giving Flores even more avenues to send pressure to the quarterback.
Meanwhile, the players who were already in Minneapolis have had another year to marinate in Flores’ system. All of the veterans — Greenard, Van Ginkel, Byron Murphy Jr., Blake Cashman, Josh Metellus, and Harrison Smith — instinctively know where to be and what to do. That cohesiveness is crucial, but so is getting young players up to speed. Dallas Turner has now had 17 games and two offseasons to study Flores’ craft, which gives him a great shot at harnessing his freakish ability. We could also see an offseason jump from youngsters like Jalen Redmond, Levi Drake Rodriguez, and Dwight McGlothern.
Everything is coming together… but perhaps just for 2025. There’s not just the idea that Flores might finally get the head coaching job he deserves next year. This is also absolutely the last ride for Smith, whose leadership almost gives the Vikings’ secondary an on-field defensive coordinator. But it’s not just veteran gravitas that Smith adds. Even at age 35, the Hitman played over 1,000 snaps at a high level and remains an indispensable engine of Flores’ scheme.
“I love coaching him,” Flores told NFL.com in January. “He’s allowed me to be more creative and attempt to do some things — because they don’t all work — because of his acumen [and] leadership.”
The expiration date on Smith is almost definitely 2026. As for some other members of the defense… we don’t know for sure, but it won’t be forever. Allen (30) and Hargrave (32) both dealt with significant injuries for the first time in their careers. It’s possible they won’t be at their Pro Bowl forms this year, and it’s much less of a guarantee that either will be effective in 2026. Van Ginkel just played his first season with over 80% of the snaps, so he doesn’t have a ton of wear and tear, but he also just turned 30 earlier this month.
Minnesota’s limited draft picks make it much more difficult to backfill. Turner is the only elite prospect coming up, and he’s at a position that should continue being a strength for the Vikings, given Greenard and Van Ginkel’s presence. Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon is the only other defensive player they drafted in the first three rounds since 2023. For a team that is going to need safety and defensive tackle help in the medium term, that’s not ideal.
But if this is indeed “The Last Dance” for Flores and the defense, Minnesota at least timed things nicely. If you had to pick a year when the defense would be best positioned to carry the team, it’s the one when a first-year quarterback is taking the reins of the offense. If Flores departs and the defense takes a hit or two, the hope is that J.J. McCarthy will be ready to pick up some of the slack.
In the meantime, though, it’ll be exciting to see this band together for as long as the magic can last. Watching Flores’ vision manifest into a top-tier defense was a thing of beauty, and with even more toys for the defensive coordinator to play with, the ceiling is about as high as it gets in 2025. Enjoy it.
