The Minnesota Vikings’ fanbase is waiting with bated breath to see how defensive coordinator Brian Flores will answer his version of the question that The Clash posed in the 1980s.
Should I stay or should I go?
Fans would like to see him stay with the Vikings, but he has viable options if he wants to leave. As they may not want to, fans might have to start envisioning life after Flores.
Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL is a factor in whether another team will hire him. Still, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers have interviewed him, worrying fans that he may take a head coaching position elsewhere.
If Flores decides to leave, the question becomes, who takes his place?
Rewarding someone internally, like Daronte Jones, is enticing. Still, Raheem Morris is the outside option that might make the most sense.
Morris has been around the NFL for 23 years, except for a brief one-season stint as the DC for Kansas State. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion and has held numerous coaching positions over 23 years. Most notably, he was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011 and the Atlanta Falcons from 2024 to 2025.
However, Morris has spent most of his time coaching defense. In both Super Bowls that he won, XXXVII and LVI, he was the defensive quality-control coach for the Buccaneers for Super Bowl XXXVII and the defensive coordinator for the Rams in Super Bowl LVI.
The style in which Morris coaches his defenses is not all that different from the man he would be replacing. Like Flores, Morris relies on presnap confusion and tons of pressure, while not getting overly aggressive and also leaning on coverages.
As a former defensive backs coach, Morris could also help with the issue that plagued the 2025 Vikings defense. He could turn what was a hole in an otherwise stout defense into a part of the defense that could be the best part in 2026.
While Morris is a top candidate, he isn’t the only one. With what Morris brings to the table, it’s easy to see how he could be a frontrunner for the position if Flores leaves. Still, what if Morris decides to get another head coaching position with a team like the Tennessee Titans? Who else could possibly step into Flores’s role?
The most obvious answer is the aforementioned Daronte Jones, who has been with the Vikings on and off since 2020. Like Morris, he has spent time focusing solely on the defensive backfield, most recently being the defensive pass game coordinator. However, unlike Morris, Jones has not held a major position on an NFL team. The closest he has gotten was in 2021 when he was the defensive coordinator for LSU.
There are other external options, such as Don “Wink” Martindale. The 62-year-old coach is known for being blitz-happy and for focusing on making the QB rush his progressions. However, Martindale relies on lockdown corners, something the Vikings don’t have on their roster.
While other options are available, none seem to fit as well as Morris would.
Like with any job, sometimes it’s about who you know, and the NFL is no different in that regard. That gives Morris another advantage over other candidates.
While Jones knows head coach Kevin O’Connell well, Morris does as well. Morris has an added edge in that KOC won Super Bowl LVI with Morris when they were both with the Los Angeles Rams. In that season, Morris called the defense while KOC ran the offense, likely building chemistry between the two.
While Brian Flores hasn’t left yet, the likelihood that he will has increased given his success with Minnesota’s defense. If Flores leaves, Raheem Morris would offer the smoothest transition among the options on the market. Given his background and relationship with the head coach, it will be difficult to transition from Flores. Still, the groundwork is there with Morris to build a contending team.
