Brian Flores was one of the earliest names tied to the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching search, and for a moment, it looked like things might pick up steam. But here we are, more than two weeks later, and there’s been no official word of a meeting between Flores and the organization. For a coach with his résumé and availability, that silence is starting to raise eyebrows.
Flores, currently the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, isn’t coaching in the playoffs, which makes him fully available for interviews. That’s a key detail.
Unlike candidates whose teams are still in the postseason, Flores could walk into an in-person interview tomorrow if a team wanted to make that move. So far, the Raiders haven’t done that-or at least haven’t made it public.
Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers weighed in this week, noting how the buzz around Flores has all but disappeared since Week 18.
“I’m not saying they’re not interested,” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders podcast. “But I haven’t heard anything about Flores since those early reports. It was loud before Week 18, then suddenly-crickets.”
That’s not nothing. In the NFL coaching carousel, silence can be telling.
Especially when you consider that Flores checks several boxes for a team like the Raiders. They’ve already interviewed Vance Joseph, another defensive-minded candidate, which satisfies the Rooney Rule requirement.
That means if the Raiders wanted to bring Flores in and hire him tomorrow, they could. No procedural hurdles.
So what’s the holdup?
One possible explanation surfaced this week from Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, who hinted that Flores’ ongoing legal battle with the NFL might be complicating his path back to a head coaching role. Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the league in 2022, alleging discriminatory hiring practices. That case is still unresolved.
Carpenter suggested that Tom Brady-who holds a minority ownership stake in the Raiders and is expected to have influence over football decisions-may have floated Flores’ name as a trial balloon, testing how the league would react to such a hire.
“Is there a franchise more willing to fight the NFL than the Raiders? No,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “But if they were going to go in a Brian Flores direction, I’m just telling you, NFL people don’t think that would be a wise move by Tom Brady.”
That’s a loaded comment. Carpenter didn’t elaborate on why it would be unwise, but it opens the door to speculation about how the league might respond.
One potential area of leverage? Brady’s upcoming media career with FOX.
If the league perceives a Flores hire as antagonistic, it could create friction with Brady’s other business interests.
To be clear, no one is saying Flores is out of the picture entirely. In fact, Carpenter believes there’s still a chance Flores could land in Vegas-not as head coach, but possibly as defensive coordinator. That’s the role he currently holds in Minnesota, and it could be a more realistic path back into the Raiders’ orbit.
As of now, 14 candidates have reportedly interviewed for the Raiders’ head coaching job. Flores isn’t one of them. The only candidate known to have dropped out is Kevin Stefanski, who was hired by the Atlanta Falcons.
So where does that leave Flores? Still on the outside looking in, at least publicly.
But with the Raiders' coaching search still active and no final decision made, it’s a situation worth keeping an eye on. Flores brings a strong defensive pedigree, leadership experience, and a no-nonsense approach that fits the Raiders’ identity.
Whether that’s enough to overcome the league’s political undercurrents remains to be seen.