A pair of coaches from the Minnesota Vikings have been connected to the vacant New York Jets head coach position.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jets have requested to interview the likes of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and quarterbacks  coach Josh McCown for the job:

Flores, 43, previously had a stint as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 to 2021. After that, he sued the team, alleging owner Stephen Ross pushed him to tank by offering him $100,000 for every game he lost and claiming Ross pressured him to violate NFL tampering rules by recruiting a prominent quarterback on another team which later ended up being reported as Tom Brady.

He also sued the NFL for discrimination against minority head coaching candidates. For the past two seasons, Flores has been in charge of the Minnesota defense as the defensive coordinator and the unit has thrived. In 2024, the Vikings have allowed only 19.5 points per game, the fifth-best number in the league.

McCown has only been a coach for two years. However, the 45-year-old has overseen the rebirth of quarterback Sam Darnold’s career the Vikings’ No. 1 quarterback. McCown also was a player for the Jets and was teammates with Darnold at that time.

With Minnesota now rolling on into the 2024 NFL postseason, NFL rules state teams with open positions cannot interview candidates until early next week.

New York’s last head coach, Robert Saleh, was fired on Oct. 8. The team, 2-3 at the time, named Jeff Ulbrich the interim coach. It ended up with a 5-12 record.

After letting Saleh go, the Jets announced that the The 33rd Team, a football media, analytics and consulting media outlet, would assist owner Woody Johnson in their search for a new general manager and head coach. That group was founded by former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and ex-Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman.