The Chicago Bears’ long-term future largely rests on whether quarterback Caleb Williams lives up to the elevated expectations that were put in place when he was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft, but that reportedly hasn’t stopped the NFC North team from looking into someone with an extensive defensive background for its head coaching vacancy.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported Monday that Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is “connected to the position” and earned “strong reviews” when Bears president Kevin Warren asked around about the candidate in Minnesota.

Warren previously worked for the Vikings for 15 years and presumably still has plenty of connections with the organization. What’s more, Bears general manager Ryan Poles was teammates with Flores at Boston College in 2003.

Still, Flores is a defensive coach who was a longtime assistant for the New England Patriots on that side of the ball before he became the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 through 2021.

While his Vikings have been largely dominant this season on the way to an NFC-best 14-2 record, his time in Miami was inconsistent at best.

Flores went 24-25 overall and never made the playoffs, although the Dolphins did go 10-6 in his second season but missed the playoffs because of the overall strength of the AFC and division that year.

His time in Miami also made headlines this year when Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said Flores said he sucked and didn’t belong in his position. For his part, Flores said after that interview he was “genuinely happy” for Tagovailoa’s success and wanted to learn from the situation to help him grow moving forward.