Odds: Brian Flores Surges to Favorite for Cardinals Head Coach
The interest in Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Brian Flores is alive and well during this hiring cycle. After he’d been linked to vacant defensive coordinator positions in Cleveland and Atlanta, the Arizona Cardinals requested to interview Flores on Friday. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Flores’ long odds to take over in Phoenix have improved to +350, which makes him the co-favorite for the job along with former New Orleans head coach Sean Payton.
The Cardinals have also sought the okay to speak with Payton, who has his own list of possible suitors and is marked down at +350, too.
Brian Flores is now the co-favorite to be the next coach of the Cardinals following the Monti Ossenfort GM hire.
Brian Flores +350
Sean Payton +350 https://t.co/bkts61Mpr0— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) January 16, 2023
Vance Joseph, Arizona’s defensive coordinator, will also be considered for the job. He’s the third-likeliest candidate at +450, while Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen is at +500. 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans currently sits at +750. Ben Johnson (+1200), Shane Steichen (+1500), Byron Leftwich (+1700), Eric Bieniemy and Mike Kafka (+1800), and Jim Harbaugh (+2000) are also listed.
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The Cardinals fired Kliff Kingsbury last week after he went 28-37-1 over a four-year span. Longtime executive Steve Keim also stepped down from his post. On Monday, Arizona hired former Tennessee Titans personnel man Monti Ossenfort as their new general manager. It’s not unusual for a team to pick someone to lead their brass before bringing on a head coach, so the choice could be coming sooner rather than later.
Over three seasons, Brian Flores went 24-25 as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins before landing in Pittsburgh this past off-season. If he does end up taking over for the Cardinals, he’ll have the chance to build around former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray, who signed a five-year, $230 million extension last year. On defense, Arizona is losing iconic defensive lineman J.J Watt to retirement. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins recently expressed his desire to be traded, which could provide some more draft capital for the new coach to work with.
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