When Vikings players returned from their bye week on Monday to begin a five-game push for a playoff spot that appeared much more contested than it had a week earlier, Brian Flores gathered the members of one of the league's most surprising defenses and told them what was at stake.
"My message was: 'You've got 35 guaranteed days. That's all we got that's guaranteed.' I can't give that message and not heed that message," the Vikings defensive coordinator said in response to a question about his own prospects for a second head coaching opportunity. "Let's put everything into those five weeks, and not come out of it with any regrets.