As he got the Vikings prepared for a playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams, defensive coordinator Brian Flores was asked whether he would take interview requests to be a head coach of another team.

“I plan on taking them all,” Flores said. “I plan on sitting down and having conversations with any team that’s interested in talking to me.”

That’s exactly what he did.

After the Vikings lost to the Rams, Flores interviewed with the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Though each of those teams ended up going in a different direction when hiring their head coach, Flores doesn’t have any hard feelings about how everything went down.

“It was a great experience, and I enjoyed it,” Flores said. “I’m also very happy to be right where I am.”

That was the overarching theme that Flores hammered home on Tuesday afternoon at TCO Performance Center.

He’s honored that he was considered among the other top candidates. He’s also fully invested in helping the Vikings chase that elusive Super Bowl. That process is currently in full swing with the Vikings smack dab in the middle of mandatory minicamp.

“I’m really excited about where we’re at,” Flores said. “We’re trying to build on a lot of the foundation that we’ve laid.”

Since being hired by head coach Kevin O’Connell to run the defense, Flores has steadily helped turn the Vikings into a feared unit on that side of the ball. He has developed the reputation of a mastermind throughout his tenure, thanks in large part to the chaos his schemes can create.

“There’s a lot of collaborative ideas,” Flores said. “We’re throwing stuff out there, like, ‘Can we do that?’ “

Sometimes it’s a conversation with defensive lineman Harrison Phillips. Sometimes it’s a conversation with linebacker Blake Cashman. Sometimes it’s a conversation with safety Harrison Smith.

“If we like it, we’ll implement it,” Flores said. “If we don’t like it, we’ll move on.”

Maybe the biggest reason that style has resonated since Flores took over is because of how intentional he has been about communicating with his players.

“A main pillar of building a successful defense is communication,” he said. “The best communicators have relationships that are built through conversation.”

That explains why Flores has encouraged his players to hang out as much as possible outside of practice. He wants his players to be close off the field. He believes that helps them perform on the field.

“You know, last season they came up with dances to build that rapport,” Flores said. “Who knows what it’ll be this season?”

Whatever it ends up being, Flores wants it to be authentic to this group in particular.

“It’s not going to come from me,” he said. “I’m going to always be thinking about the next play. My joy comes from watching them have excitement. We try to build that.”

As much as he wants to be a head coach at some point, Flores is clearly happy to be back with the Vikings, and he’s focused on finishing out mandatory minicamp on a high note.

“Then we’ll take a break and come back for training camp and start for real,” Flores said with a smile. “I’m excited for it all.”