An AFC Team Swoops In with Requests to Meet with 3 of the Vikings’ Top Leaders

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. The New York Jets, an AFC team coming off of a 5-12 season, wants to meet with some of the Vikings’ top leaders. The reporting comes courtesy of Adam Schefter of ESPN and Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Per the two league insiders, the Jets want to meet with defensive coordinator Brian Flores, quarterback coach Josh McCown, and executive Ryan Grigson. The AFC Team and The 3 Vikings Leaders Right off the top, the word from the insiders. Schefter offers the news that the New York Jets want to interview a pair of Vikings coaches: “Jets have requested head coaching interviews with Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and QB coach Josh McCown, per sources.” Russini of The Athletic passed along the word about one of the Vikings’ top executives: “The New York Jets have requested to speak to Vikings senior VP of player personnel Ryan Grigson, per source.” Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. The appeal of Flores is obvious. A strong leader who is well-liked by his players in Minnesota, Flores has pushed the Vikings’ defense up to 5th in the NFL by allowing 19.5 points against per game. Keep in mind that the 2022 Vikings were awful on defense with Ed Donatell leading the charge. A couple seasons is all Flores needed to turn them into a top-5 group. Of course, there was a lot of free agent talent brought aboard, but the DC deserves credit for making all the pieces fit. Letting him work with Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams (among others) could lead to a great Jets defense. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. Flores will know the Jets reasonably well since he was the head coach of the Dolphins from 2019-2021, a division rival. Moreover, Flores spent a ton of time coaching (and scouting) with the Patriots, another team in the AFC East. The appeal of hiring McCown is that he’s a quarterback expert with a ton of playing experience. The NFL likes hiring offensive head coaches, so that gives the Vikings’ QB coach a bit of an edge even if Flores has proven that he’s deserving of one of the NFL’s top 32 spots. Meanwhile, Ryan Grigson is an intriguing option to become a general manager again. Prior to working in Minnesota, Grigson was the GM for the Colts. His five seasons went from 2012-2016 and he put together a 49-31 record within that timeframe. He’s well regarded inside TCO Performance Center. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images The last time the Jets won the AFC East was back in 2002. The last time the Jets went to the playoffs was back in 2010. Seeing Flores depart for the AFC team would be a surprise. Maybe McCown will have more interest, especially since he used to play for them. New York owns the 7th pick in the draft. Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece. K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.