CBS Sports: Cowboys Move To Select A “Defensive-Minded Leader” To Replace HC Mike McCarthy
The Dallas Cowboys are riding high after defeating the New York Giants in Week 4, but head coach Mike McCarthy is in the last year of his contract. If Jerry Jones feels it’s time for a change, there is still discussion regarding McCarthy’s potential successor. Even though Bill Belichick’s name has been on many NFL analysts’ lips, a new prospect is starting to emerge, and he is winning with defense.
“One of the Hottest Coordinators” is Brian Flores.
In a September 26 Sporting News story, Bill Bender talks about potential coaching possibilities to replace McCarthy with the Cowboys. The defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, Brian Flores, is among the more intriguing ones. With a 4-0 record heading into Week 5, the Vikings are drawing attention to Flores.
“Flores was a member of the Steelers organization in 2022, and his work with the Vikings this season has made him one of the hottest coordinators,” Bender said. “It could work with Dallas if Jones wants a defensive-minded leader,” he said in another place.
Flores’ interest is being noticed by other NFL analysts as well. ESPN NFL writer Dan Graziano claims that among coordinators aiming to take over as head coach after this season, Flores is “the buzziest” name.
Graziano wrote, “On performance alone, he’s unbeatable.” The Giants, 49ers, and Texans have combined for 30 scores against the Vikings this season, and Flores is getting praise for his ability to confuse quarterbacks and mask pressures. In Year 2 of the system, athletes are executing it at a far higher level than they did during the inaugural season in Minnesota.
As for Flores as a head-coaching candidate, Graziano continued, “There is, of course, the subject of his ongoing lawsuit against the NFL, which alleges racial discrimination in the league’s hiring practices.”
In a September 29 feature in Vikings Territory, Adam New wrote that after the Vikings defeated the Texans in Week 3, “there was talk of the Vikings being one of the best-coached teams in the league, of O’Connell and Flores being the best offensive and defensive play-caller duo in the league, and even of Flores’ stock rising in league circles that another chance at a head coaching gig could be on the horizon.” Flores receives added praise for this achievement.
Another option is Denver Broncos player Sean Payton.
Sean Payton, the head coach of the Denver Broncos, had a brief stint with the Cowboys as an offensive coordinator from 2003 to 2005.
Between spells with New Orleans, where he won Super Bowl XLIV, and Denver, where he is working with first-round pick Bo Nix, Payton has demonstrated consistency as a winner, with a winning % of.617, according to Bender. Moving like this would probably necessitate transferring draft picks because Payton appears to have Denver headed in the right direction. Would Payton and Jones get along? Jones has expressed his admiration for Payton in public, so if the time is perfect, it might be worthwhile.
Additional NFL hopefuls Three offensive coordinators are mentioned by Bender: Kliff Kingsbury of the Commanders, Ben Johnson of the Lions, Bobby Slowik of the Texans, and Johnson of the Lions. However, he observes that Kingsbury is a “longshot given the other candidates on this list.” Additionally, he mentions Kirby Smart of Georgia and Lincoln Riley of USC as potential collegiate alternatives.
