EAGAN — At first, Brian Flores tried to play it cool. He walked to the podium at TCO Performance Center with his usual straight face but the moment he mentioned Danielle Hunter returning he couldn’t hold in his grin.
Hunter ended his “hold-in” on Monday after he and the team came to an agreement on a re-worked contract that includes $17 million guaranteed. Nobody is happier that the star pass rusher is back than the Minnesota Vikings’ new defensive coordinator.
“He’s an exceptional player and we’re excited to have him as part of the defense,” Flores said. “Not only as a player but also the leadership that he brings. I know that he’s a hard-working individual. I also know that he’s a man of few words, but he leads by examples, and his actions speak for themselves. We’re excited to have him, we’re excited to get started.”
Flores’s presence has injected life into the Vikings’ defense after they finished 27th in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed last season. But in the opening days of camp without Hunter on the practice field, there was a major question about who was going to create problems for opposing quarterbacks and how much they could really improve if Hunter were traded. The other expected regular D-linemen (Harrison Phillips, Deal Lowry, Marcus Davenport, DJ Wonnum and Khyiris Tonga) combined had just 8.0 sacks in 2022. Now Flores gets to work with a three-time Pro Bowler who has 31.0 sacks in his last 40 games and ranked sixth in total QB pressures (per PFF) last year.
“Having a player like Danielle, no one’s upset about it,” Flores quipped.
How exactly will he work with Hunter though? Flores joked in a previous press conference that there wasn’t much schematics behind chasing the quarterback but there are some interesting nuances.
In 2022 Ed Donatell played a base 3-4 system, which was most often playing in nickel but asked the defensive ends to play wide outside the tackles and from a standup rushing position on a regular basis. Will Flores’s defense do the same or will Hunter return to having his hand in the dirt?
“I think he’s got the ability to do both,” Flores said. “I think there’s gonna be times where he’s stood up, there’s gonna be times where he’s got his hand in the ground. I’ve really been a personal preference guy from that standpoint. I think you can play that position and put your hand in the ground, be in a 3-point, 2-point, so my philosophy has always been, as long as you can get the job done.”
It speaks to Flores’s greater philosophy of putting players in position to succeed and playing to their strengths, which likely means Hunter won’t be dropping back into coverage very often. Last year he had a career high 31 coverage snaps and allowed 7-for-7 passing for 72 yards (per PFF) into his coverage.
“I probably like he him going forward more than backwards, personally,” Flores said.
Flores did occasionally drop back his edge rushers Emmanuel Ogbah (16 coverage snaps) and Jaelan Phillips (48) in 2021 as head coach of the Dolphins. The Vikings’ defensive coordinator noted that there may be situations where it’s part of a pass rush package.
“There are some instances where you may have to drop because he’s getting doubled in the drops, and there’s two guys that are there,” he explained. “There’s some instances where you can do we can use that to our advantage.”
Flores said that he plans to work on Hunter’s role with outside linebackers coach Mike Smith, who coached Hunter in 2022 but ultimately how he’s used will be dictated by the star pass rusher.
“He’s a guy who’s played a lot football,” Flores said. “He’s got a good feel for the game. And when you got a veteran player, a lot of times as a coach, we try to put trust in that player.”
For Hunter, this feels like an ideal situation. He’s looking to put together another wildly productive season and become a free agent. Part of his new contract with the Vikings includes a clause that the team cannot franchise tag him. They could work out a contract extension at some point if the two sides decide to keep him in purple for the long run. Hunter said during his first media availability that he wants to be a Viking forever.
One step at a time. Hunter only participated in individual drills while he ramps back up to full speed.
