Dallas Cowboys\u00a0head coach Mike McCarthy is in the\u00a0final year of his contract, and even though the Cowboys are riding high on a Week 4 win over rivals the\u00a0New York Giants, there\u2019s still talk about who could be a McCarthy replacement if Jerry Jones thinks it\u2019s time for a change. While\u00a0Bill Belichick\u2019s name has been at the top of the tongues of some NFL analysts, a new possibility is emerging, and this guy is winning with defense.<\/p>\n
In a September 26 feature for Sporting News,\u00a0Bill Bender discusses some coaching candidates\u00a0to take McCarthy\u2019s place with the Cowboys. One of the more interesting ones is Brian Flores, the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u2018 defensive coordinator. The Vikings are 4-0 going into Week 5, and their stellar record is putting Flores in the spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlores was with the Steelers in 2022 and has emerged as one of the hottest coordinators for his work with the Vikings this season,\u201d Bender noted. Elsewhere, he noted, \u201cIt could work with Dallas if Jones wants a defensive-minded leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other NFL analysts are also noting Flores\u2019 attention, with ESPN NFL reporter Dan Graziano saying he\u2019s \u201cthe buzziest\u201d name among coordinators hoping to become a head coach after this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn performance alone, he\u2019s unassailable,\u201d\u00a0Graziano wrote. \u201cThe Vikings have allowed a total of\u00a030 points this season to the Giants, 49ers and Texans, and Flores is drawing raves for the way he disguises pressures and confuses quarterbacks. It started last season in Minnesota, but the players are executing it at a much higher level in Year 2 of the system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graziano added, \u201cThe question with Flores as a head-coaching candidate is, of course, that he still has a pending lawsuit against the NFL alleging racial discrimination in the league\u2019s hiring practices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flores gets more praise in a September 29 feature in Vikings Territory, where\u00a0Adam New noted\u00a0that following the Vikings\u2019 win over the\u00a0Texans\u00a0in Week 3, \u201cthere was talk of the Vikings being one of the best-coached teams in the league, of O\u2019Connell and Flores being the best offensive and defensive play-caller duo in the league, and even of Flores\u2019 stock rising in league circles that another chance at a head coaching gig could be on the horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denver Broncos\u00a0head coach Sean Payton served as an offensive assistant for the Cowboys from 2003 to 2005, so he has some history with the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cPayton is a consistent winner with a .617 winning percentage between stints with New Orleans, where he won Super Bowl XLIV, and Denver, where he is working with first-round pick Bo Nix,\u201d\u00a0Bender wrote. \u201cA move like this would likely require trading draft picks given Payton seems to have Denver on the right path. Would Jones and Payton work out? Jones has been outward in his praise for Payton, and if the timing is right, it would be worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other candidates from the NFL Bender talks up include Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik,\u00a0Lions\u00a0offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and\u00a0Commanders\u00a0offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, but he notes the latter is more of a \u201clongshot given the other candidates on this list.\u201d He also names some college options in USC coach Lincoln Riley and Georgia coach Kirby Smart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dallas Cowboys\u00a0head coach Mike McCarthy is in the\u00a0final year of his contract, and even though the Cowboys are riding high on a Week 4 win over rivals… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n