Former Vikings assistant Mike Pettine: Brian Flores and I didn’t see eye to eye

Mike Pettine retired last week after a long coaching career, most recently as assistant head coach of the Vikings. In Minnesota, he worked alongside defensive coordinator Brian Flores. And Pettine did not enjoy that experience.

Interviewed on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, Pettine was asked what his thoughts are on Flores as a head-coaching candidate.

“Probably not many that I would prefer to share,” Pettine said.

Pettine then elaborated that he and Flores were not on the same page, and that Pettine, who had previously been a defensive coach, began working with the Vikings’ offense because he didn’t work well with Flores.

“I mean we didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, and that’s why I spent this past year on offense. I was there in ’23 and ’24 on defense.”

Ultimately, Pettine declined to say much about Flores.

“I’ll take the high road on that one,” Pettine said.

Flores remains a candidate for some NFL head-coaching jobs. It’s safe to say he won’t be listing Pettine as a reference.