Denver Broncos: Brian Flores a name to keep an eye on

The Denver Broncos are searching for a new head coach, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Brian Flores is a name to watch for.

The Denver Broncos fired head coach Vance Joseph on the day after the regular season, where seven other NFL teams have opened up their head coaching positions.

The Broncos’ coaching job is not considered to be the most attractive one available at this point as the opportunity to take over the Cleveland Browns, suddenly a white-hot team with a great young core of players is probably going to be the most highly pursued job in the league.

After Cleveland, the New York Jets seem to have a clear path for the future with Sam Darnold at quarterback and an emerging young defense.

Beyond those two jobs, it’s really anyone’s guess as to which job is the best available in the NFL. the Broncos’ job doesn’t seem as appealing right now because of the team’s ownership situation and the fact that the quarterback position is not currently solidified.

That’s typically an indicator of why a team is looking for a new head coach, though. Once those two things are in place, things usually get better. That obviously wasn’t the case for the Browns and Jets, though.

There will be plenty to talk about in the coaching circuit over the next couple of weeks, but teams are already starting the interview process and some have probably even narrowed their search a bit.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, one name to keep an eye on for the Denver Broncos is New England Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores, somewhat of a sleeper candidate who received a little attention in last year’s head coaching circuit but is getting interview requests from about every team with an opening at this point.

Said Rap Sheet of Flores in that segment on NFL Network:

"“In fact, the Broncos, keep an eye on that one. They’ve been doing a lot of work on him, really over the past couple of weeks.”Ian Rapoport"

Flores brings the stigma of a former Patriots coach jumping to the head coaching ranks, which is an idea Broncos fans have been all but completely turned off by.

Still, he’s an intriguing candidate who has worked as a scout, offensive assistant, special teams assistant, defensive position coach, and now defensive coordinator.

The problem? Like Vance Joseph before him, Flores has just one year of coordinator experience. He’s just 37 years old though and has done a fine job with New England’s defense this year as opposed to Joseph’s job with the Dolphins in 2016.

The Patriots’ defense ranks seventh in points allowed, fifth in turnovers forced and 11th against the run.

He has three other interviews available to him besides the Broncos, as the Browns, Dolphins, and Packers have also requested permission to talk with him.