Brian Flores Responds to Tua Controversy; Vikings Players Literally Stand Behind Him

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Aug 20, 2024
Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are getting ready for their third and final preseason game this weekend, vs the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only are they trying to finish the exhibition season undefeated, but they’re trying to cutdown one of the most competitive training camp rosters in recent memory.

Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Brian Flores is dealing with major off-field drama. On Tuesday, a recent interview clip surfaced of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the Dan LeBatard Show.

In the clip, Tua goes off on Flores, who was head coach at Miami for Tua’s first two NFL seasons. He blames his old coach for confidence issues back then, along with Sunday struggles he dealt with, early in his career. Tagovailoa even went as far as calling Flores “a terrible person”. You can read the full context of the clip HERE.

Minnesota Vikings players have Brian Flores’ back

On Tuesday afternoon, Brian Flores spoke with members of the media for the first time since the Tua clip dropped. In a show of both literal and metaphorical support, two veteran Vikings defenders, Josh Metellus and Harrison Phillips, showed up and stood behind their defensive coordinator during the start of his press conference.

After a brief introduction, Flores got into what everyone was there to hear about. His response to what his former QB said about him. Below is the full back and forth, regarding Tua’s comments, between the now Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, and media members today at TCO Performance Center.

I’ve included some of the transcript below, but the video has captions, for those who cannot listen with sound.

Flores: “I’m genuinely happy for the success that Tua has had and I really wish him nothing but the best. Player relationships are very important to me. I think that’s kind of the foundation of coaching.”

Reporter: “Did you see the relationship the way [Tua] saw the relationship? Did what he said resonate at all with you?”

Flores: “You know, I think…. I think, part of coaching is correcting. I’m always going to correct, I’m always going to have a high standard. Look, I’ve done a lot reflecting on the situation, and communication. I think there’s things that I could do better, for sure, and I’ve grown in that way, and I’ve tried to apply the things that I could do better and the things that I’ve learned over the last two, three years. But I would say, over the long haul, I’ve had a lot of great relationships over my 21 year career here, in the league.”

Flores shows remorse, but wants to move on

The back and forth with reporters, regarding Tua, went on for about seven minutes. It was clearly a very uncomfortable interview for Flores to give. He stumbled on his words multiple times, as he tried to find the best way to describe his feelings on a very sensitive subject that he doesn’t want to fan the flames on.

He didn’t want to disregard Tua’s feelings, and made that clear multiple times, noting that he doesn’t want any of his players to feel the way his former QB does. At the same time, though, he wants to use this experience to reflect on what he needs to do to become a better coach, so he can focus on the players under him now.

Related: Did T.J. Hockenson Have a Set Back While Rehabbing his Knee Injury?

And clearly, many of those players love everything about Brian Flores. He said that he has had a lot of people reach out to him, and that he appreciates their support.

When asked if he plans to try and bury the hatchet with Tagovailoa, Brian Flores said he would be open to that, if the opportunity presented itself, but said again, that he is more focused on what the Minnesota Vikings are trying to do in 2024, not re-kindling past relationships that have gone sour.

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