Report: Flores, McDaniels "shouldn't be ruled out" as potential Belichick replacements

FOXBORO -- As the Patriots inch closer and closer to the end of their 2023 season, more and more rumors about the team's future at head coach are coming out. And as we hit Week 17, there are two more names popping up as potential replacements for Bill Belichick.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero went around the league's coaching scenarios and offered up some tidbits surrounding the teams that will likely be looking for new head coaches at the conclusion of the season. On the Belichick front, the duo does indicate that there's a scenario where Belichick could remain as head coach in New England. But they also add that owner Robert Kraft has taken on a bigger role in decision-making within New England's football operations over the past few years, and that Kraft has also consulted "numerous people" on how to proceed with Belichick.

Given how things ended with Tom Brady, Kraft wants Belichick's possible exit to be "handled the right way." So it will be more of a parting of the ways and not a firing, which has been widely reported throughout New England's tumultuous season.

The most interesting part of the report came when Rapoport and Pelissero threw out some potential Belichick replacements. While Jerod Mayo has been widely speculated to be Belichick's successor, two other former Belichick assistants could land the gig. 

"If Belichick does move on, speculation has centered on Mayo as his successor. That's not a guarantee, though, and other options -- particular coaches with Patriots ties, such as Josh McDaniels or Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores -- shouldn't be ruled out," writes Rapoport and Pelissero. 

McDaniels is available after being fired by the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this season, less than two years after he was hired as the team's head coach. He obviously has an extended history with the Patriots, working for the organization from 2001-08 and 2012-2021, with runs as the offensive coordinator during both stints. He's floundered as a head coach in both Denver and Las Vegas though, with a 20-33 overall record as a head coach.

While ESPN's Mike Reiss floated a potential return for McDanaiels as an offensive coach last week, this is the first time that McDaniels has been connected to the Patriots as a potential head-coaching replacement.

Flores was on the New England sideline in a number of roles from 2008-2018, and then spent three seasons as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He didn't have much talent in Miami but guided the Dolphins to an impressive 24-25 record. But with no playoff berths, he was fired after the 2021 season. Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL in Feb. of 2022 alleging racial discrimination, and some accidental texts from Belichick played a part in that lawsuit. 

Since being let go by Miami, Flores coached for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2022 and is now serving as the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. He is a much more intriguing candidate than McDaniels, though when it comes to replacing Belichick, the best move for New England may be to rip off the Band-Aid and go with someone without any connections to the future Hall of Famer.