Every so often the football stars align and a coach is matched with the perfect franchise at the exact moment he is needed.

Such appears to be the case with Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings, pending a slightly greater sample size. Unfortunately for Vikings fans, however, the same circumstances may arise for defensive coordinator Brian Flores and the New England Patriots come 2024.

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reported in November that Pats governor Robert Kraft would seriously consider firing six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick at the end of the year if New England lost its Week-1o matchup to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany. The Patriots did lose that game and are now 3-11 on the season, which has led to extensive speculation that Belichick is operating as a lame duck coach.

Flores, a defensive-minded disciple of Belichick who got his start in New England in 2004 and spent 15 years with the organization, will be one of the hotter head coaching prospects this offseason due to the drastic turnaround he has orchestrated for the Vikings defense. The match is ideal and would allow Flores to get back into the head coaching ranks after a three-year stint with the Miami Dolphins that ended following the 2021 campaign.

“Flores is someone who has both head coaching experience and experience as a member of the Patriots. This is something that most of the other candidates for the potential job opening won’t be able to offer,” Adam Patrick of The Viking Age wrote on Tuesday, December 19. “If New England finally decides to end the legendary tenure of Belichick in 2024, the team hiring Flores as his replacement makes a lot of sense.”