How important is it to keep B-Flo for 2024 (and beyond)?

These were the names mentioned or interviewed during the Vikings' 2023 search for a new defensive coordinator and how their defenses fared in 2023 per DVOA:

Sean Desai (PHI)
🏈 DVOA = 29th — Fired by PHI this week

Ejiro Evero (CAR)
🏈 DVOA = 25th — Might stay in CAR?

Ryan Nielsen (ATL)
🏈 DVOA = 24th — Left for JAX this week

Vic Fangio (MIA)
🏈 DVOA = 19th — Left for PHI this week

Brian Flores (MIN)
🏈 DVOA = 11th — On tap to stay in MIN

MINNESOTA VIKINGS: S CAMRYN BYNUM

2022 PFF grade: 58.2
2023 PFF grade: 73.2

Although Bynum flashed ability as a role player in 2021, he failed to replicate that performance as a starter in 2022. However, 2023 was his year. He played more than 1,100 snaps for the Vikings' defense in 2023 and ranked as the fourth-highest-graded safety in the NFL over the first 14 weeks before tailing off toward the end of the year.

Coming into this season, the expectations for Bynum were largely what we’d seen in years prior. He looked uneven at best and like a mediocre, replacement-level starter at worst. But Bynum drastically exceeded expectations under Flores. He was arguably Minnesota’s most consistent defensive back throughout the year. The former college cornerback turned safety finally began to play like one. He reached a comfort level in his assignments and confidence as a tackler like we’d never seen before. And with that comes the difficult assignment of being the last line of defense in such a blitz-heavy scheme.




Throughout Bynum’s career, we’d seen glimpses of the athleticism that made him an intriguing draft pick out of Cal. But Bynum’s lack of physicality as a tackler marred those flashes of athleticism. He lacked the killer instinct needed to close on the ball and make a play. Instead, Bynum simply lived to play another down. Flores’s aggression and confidence must’ve rubbed off on Bynum. He consistently broke on the ball with newfound confidence and moxie, unlike anything we’d seen before in his career.




To build off of its success in 2023, Minnesota’s defense must get better play out of its secondary. The Vikings have few established veterans on the back end, especially as franchise legend Harrison Smith ponders retirement. Outside of Bynum, Minnesota can pencil Josh Metellus in as an important role player in the safety/hybrid linebacker in Flores’ three-safety looks. Uncertainty abounds at corner for pretty much everyone not named Byron Murphy, who was far from perfect in 2023.

The Flores defense demands a lot from the safety position, and Bynum grew under that pressure. Minnesota’s defense has plenty of holes to fill this offseason, but Bynum’s spot isn’t one of them. His emergence this year gives this front office the confidence to focus on the rest of the roster. It also provides Flores with an essential ingredient as he concocts whatever insane iteration of his defense could be next year.

Brian Flores won’t be in Minnesota forever; he’s too good at what he does. Whatever off-field drama allowed him to slip down the coaching carousel into our laps becomes less relevant by the day. But every moment he spends in purple will be a gift to this organization. His ability to develop young players like Bynum could be the difference in getting this team back to competing at an elite level.

Let’s all join Cam and the rest of the Minnesota defense in praying that the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, and Seattle Seahawks decide Flores is simply too cool to be their head coach. We need to see him work his magic again for one more year.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS: LB IVAN PACE JR.

Pace finished among the top-10 defensive rookies in overall PFF grade (77.2), pass-rush grade (78.0) and coverage grade (77.7). He did this in what was mostly a part-time role, though he did get the lead role when Jordan Hicks was on injured reserve, but for most of the year, he was limited to being the secondary linebacker in Brian Flores’ defense. Due to Hicks being a pending free agent and Pace showing such promise as a rookie, 2024 could be an even bigger year for the undrafted linebacker out of Cincinnati.