Former Vikings assistant head coach Mike Pettine raised eyebrows this week during an appearance on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. In […]
Former Vikings assistant head coach Mike Pettine raised eyebrows this week during an appearance on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show.
In the interview, Mike Pettine was asked about Brian Flores not being considered for the Cleveland Browns Head Coach role and about his thoughts on Flores. Pettine brought some heat by saying “not many [thoughts] he would prefer to share”, and the idea that the two did not always see eye to eye. He mentioned that he was taking the “high road” by not commenting further.
Rather than sounding like a simple personality clash, Pettine’s comments leave room to wonder whether deeper issues existed between the two.
Was it a Retirement or a Breaking Point?
That interview raises unavoidable questions.
- Did Pettine choose to retire on his own terms?
- Was bringing back Brian Flores the final straw?
- Or did the Vikings quietly face a decision between the two in negotiations with re-signing Brian Flores?
I also wrote previously in an article (The Vikings’ Biggest Offseason Question Is Sitting on the Sideline) that if the Vikings needed to also appoint Flores as Assistant Head Coach to attract Brian Flores to stay and offer more money, they should do so. I did suggest that if they had to choose between Pettine and Flores, they should choose Flores. So did the Wilfs have a choice to make?
Head coach Kevin O’Connell announced Pettine’s retirement on January 13. The next day (Jan 14), Flores was interviewed for the Washington Commanders Defensive Coordinator position. Coincidence in the timing? Maybe, and now that Flores has been announced as the extension recipient with Mike Pettine out of the picture, they’re also free to make him the assistant head coach if they want to.
The Vikings have not publicly framed it as a forced choice between the two. Oddly enough, other than KOC acknowledging Pettine’s retirement in a press conference, the Vikings have not made any type of “Thank You Mike” announcement, either on his departure. Perhaps they will, but it has been nearly two weeks now.
Usually in the NFL, decisions are often made long before they are announced. Could this have been one of those decisions made because the relationship between Flores and Pettine was a sticking point in whether Flores would re-sign with the Vikings as a Defensive Coordinator? Very Possible.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, I am sure more questions for Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Kevin O’Connell, Brian Flores, and even Mike Pettine are soon to come.
I don’t think this is the last we hear of the feud between these two, and the question of whether Pettine retired so he could spend time with family, or the Vikings did him a favor in a sense so he could go out on his own terms, that would help him with future jobs.
