Former head-coaching candidate Brian Flores could have been informed that the Arizona Cardinals were going in another direction.
Many Arizona Cardinals fans were disappointed this past Monday when Brian Flores accepted an offer to be the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. There were those who were holding out hope that Flores would be the next head coach of the Redbirds. One has to wonder if that was ever really a possibility, however.
Any thought of Flores coming to the desert was all but dead as early as this past weekend. That was the case until Sunday when the news broke that the Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers coach would be getting together with the Cardinals for a second time. The meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, but Flores’ deal with the Vikings obviously put the kibosh on that plan.
Flores enthusiasts immediately proclaimed that the former Miami Dolphins head man had spurned the Cards. One theory was that the 41-year-old took a pass because he had no interest in working with quarterback Kyler Murray. Has anyone ever thought of the possibility that Arizona never had any intention of handing the job to Flores?
Reunion between Arizona Cardinals GM and Brian Flores won’t take place
New Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort supposedly had a fondness for Flores from the years they spent working together in New England. The fact that they were employed by the Patriots at the same time had many convinced that Ossenfort would push for his former colleague to get the Cards gig.
While Flores may have had Ossenfort’s endorsement, it is Arizona owner Michael Bidwill who would ultimately make the final decision. Many observers chose to overlook the fact that the Cardinals were one of the franchises named in Flores’ anti-discrimination lawsuit against the NFL. Does anyone really believe that a savvy businessman like Bidwill would hire a man who was essentially looking to sue him and his organization?
Maybe Flores was told by someone in the know that the Cards were simply leading him on. It’s kind of odd that the Brooklyn, New York native would take a pass on an opportunity to once again be a head coach. Then again, Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham basically did the same thing when he turned down an offer to run Arizona’s personnel department right before Ossenfort was hired.
So while many would like to believe that Flores spurned the Cardinals, it may have been the other way around. When all is said and done, both parties will be moving in a different direction in 2023.
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