Brian Flores Hired as New Defensive Coordinator for Minnesota Vikings

Brian Flores is headed to the Midwest.

The 41-year-old Honduran American football coach has been hired as the new defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, ending a monthlong search to replace the fired Ed Donatell.

Brian Flores,  Flores spent last season as the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach after being fired as head coach by the Miami Dolphins following the 2021 season.

He’ll take over a defense that finished No. 31 in the NFL in yards allowed and is on the cusp of a significant personnel overhaul. He has a yearslong relationship with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, who was drafted by the New England Patriots as a quarterback in 2008 when Flores was a special teams assistant there.

After firing Donatell on January 19, the Vikings quickly interviewed four candidates for the job: Ryan Nielsen, Sean Desai, Mike Pettine and Flores. Nielsen took the Atlanta Falcons‘ defensive coordinator job and Desai removed his name from consideration, but sources told ESPN all along that then-Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero was their top candidate.

Evero and O’Connell spent two years on the Los Angeles Rams‘ coaching staff in 2020 and 2021, and O’Connell hoped to reunite in 2023. But Sunday, one day after the Broncos released Evero from his contract, he agreed to terms with the Carolina Panthers to be their defensive coordinator without taking an interview with the Vikings.

On Monday, the Vikings moved on to Flores, who also was a finalist for the Arizona Cardinals‘ open head-coaching job.

Flores joins the Vikings one year after suing the NFL and three teams — the Dolphins, Denver Broncos and New York Giants — alleging discrimination regarding his interview processes with Denver and New York and his firing by Miami.

Longtime NFL assistants Steve Wilks and Ray Horton later joined the suit, which the NFL is attempting to move to arbitration. Flores also alleged the Dolphins tried to incentivize him to lose games and participate in illegal tampering; the league disciplined the Dolphins last summer for tampering violations of “unprecedented scope and severity,” according to commissioner Roger Goodell.

It was not immediately clear how Flores’ arrival would affect the scheme that O’Connell originally hired Donatell to install. Flores’ defense in Miami was known for heavy blitzing — it had the NFL’s fourth-highest blitz rate from 2019 to 2021 — and man-to-man coverage in the secondary, two characteristics the Vikings largely stayed away from under Donatell.

Matt Araiza Announces Plans to Enter 2022 NFL Draft

Matt Araiza is entering the draft…

The 21-year-old Mexican American college football star, a punter for San Diego State and Ray Guy Award winner, has announced that he’ll be entering the 2022 NFL Draft after putting together one of the best punting seasons in college football history.

Matt Araiza“These past four years have been a blessing,” Araiza wrote on Twitter. “Thank you to my family and friends for all the years of support. With gratitude, I am announcing my decision to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft.”

Araiza, who had one year left of eligibility, set the record for punting average in a season with 51.19 yards per punt. He holds the NCAA record of punts of 50 yards or more with 39 and the record for punts of 60 yards or more with 18. He also had two punts of 80 yards or more this season, including an 86-yarder.

Matt AraizaAraiza is a former soccer player-turned kicker from San Diego who made the switch to football early in high school.

“When I made that transition, from soccer to football, it was because I wanted to be in the NFL,” Araiza told ESPN in November.

He said that he studies NFL kickers and models some of his approach after Jake Bailey, who currently kicks for the New England Patriots and has a similar background and body type to Araiza.

 

Araiza also was selected as a first-team All-American, which triggered bonuses for coach Brady Hoke and offensive coordinator Jeff Hecklinski.

Victor Cruz to Co-Host E!’s “Pop of the Morning”

Popgoes the morning for Victor Cruz… 

The 33-year-old Puerto Rican former New York Giantswide receiver has joined E!’s morning news show Pop of the Morningas a co-host, E! has announced. 

Victor Cruz

Cruz will join the recently hired Lilliana Vazquezand Scott Tweedieon the 11:00 am weekday show.

“I’m excited for this new journey in life,” Cruz said in a statement. “I’m excited for you guys to see me in a different way.”

Cruz was an undrafted free agent in 2010 when he landed at the Giants, finishing the 2011 season with a single-season franchise record for receiving yards, and later becoming part of the Giants victory over the New England Patriotsin Super Bowl XLVI

He launched the Victor Cruz Foundationin 2014, which encourages children to become physically active, focuses on college readiness, financial literacy, and STEMprogramming.

E! News tweeted a brief video clip of Cruz announcing his new gig.

Bündchen to Appear as Part of Under Armour’s New Women’s Campaign

Gisele Bündchen is breaking out her armour

The 34-year-old Brazilian supermodel has signed on to be part of Under Armour’s new women’s campaign.

Gisele Bundchen

Bündchen, the world’s top-earning model in 2014, has reportedly agreed to a multiyear deal, according to ESPN.com. Financial terms were not disclosed.

On Tuesday, the shoe and apparel brand posted a teaser video on YouTube featuring Bündchen, who is married to New England Patriots‘ star quarterback Tom Brady.

In the video, she’s seen wearing the brand’s gear and heading into an empty loft with a heavy bag hanging from the ceiling. It ends with the promise of more to come about the relationship Thursday.

In 2010, Brady joined Under Armour, receiving an undisclosed piece of the company for his endorsement. Although Brady has been selective with his endorsements, landing Bündchen might have been harder.

Last month, Forbes magazine said she was the highest-earning model in the world for the eighth year in a row, pulling in an estimated $47 million. In comparison, Brady received a $30 million signing bonus for a restructured and extended deal he signed last year with the Patriots, and he has a $2 million base salary for this upcoming season.

Bündchen will be part of Under Armour’s women’s campaign, which kicked off last month with the signing of ballerina Misty Copeland, another nontraditional endorsement deal for the brand. The Copeland spot, featuring her against-all-odds story, has garnered more than 5.8 million views on YouTube.

The campaign, with its I Will What I Want slogan, also includes skier Lindsey Vonn, soccer player Kelley O’Hara and tennis player Sloane Stephens.

Under Armour’s women’s business registers about $500 million in sales and makes up roughly 30 percent of the company’s overall apparel sales annually.

The husband-wife team of Brady and Bündchen is perhaps the highest-profile to align with a sports brand since Andre Agassi left Nike in 2005 to join Adidas, the brand endorsed by his wife, Steffi Graf. Agassi went back to Nike last year.

Sanchez’s Strong Performance Leads the New York Jets to Victory

It’s a return to form for Mark Sanchez

The 26-year-old New York Jets quarterback emerged from his recent two-game slump and led his team to a decisive 27-13 win over the St. Louis Rams in NFL action over the weekend.

Mark Sanchez
Sanchez, the former University of Southern California star, completed 15 of 20 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown in leading the Jets to improve their record to 4-6.

In completing 75-percent of his passes, this marked Sanchez’s best percentage in nearly three years.

“It was a great performance by him,” said Sanchez’s teammate Rex Ryan. “It’s what we needed.”

Mark Sanchez
Before Sunday, the Jets had been outscored 58-16 in their two previous games. But the team managed to put some points on the board against the Rams, in their first season under head coach Jeff Fisher.

Running back Bilal Powell scored the first two touchdowns of his career and kicker Nick Folk hit two 51-yard field goals for the Jets.

The Rams (3-6) were led by quarterback Sam Bradford, who completed 23 of 44 passes for 170 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Jets next face the New England Patriots, currently in first place in the AFC East division, on Thanksgiving Day.

Ochocinco Agrees to Deal with the Miami Dolphins

He may have been cut from the New England Patriots last week… But Chad Ochocinco won’t need to file for unemployment.

The 34-year-old part-Mexican football star has agreed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins that includes incentives if he makes the team, according to The Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale.

Chad Ochocinco

The Dolphins announced via their Twitter account Monday night that they had signed the veteran wide receiver, and Ochocinco confirmed the news of the signing on his website, ocnnreport.com.

Ochocinco—who recently worked out for the Dolphins recently, according to the team’s coach Joe Philbin—was released last week by Patriots. He had 15 catches for 276 yards and a touchdown in 15 games last season.

“Thoroughly enjoyed the oppurtunity to play for the “Patriot” organization… fans were (expletive) wicked awesome, I wish all of you the best,” tweeted the six-time Pro Bowler about the news he wouldn’t return to the Patriots after one year with the team.

Meanwhile, at least one member of the Dolphins team likes the idea of having Ochocinco, a Miami native, as a teammate in South Florida.

“If we are able to get him on our team, I feel like he can bring a lot of wisdom and knowledge from a veteran standpoint,” running back Reggie Bush told NFL Network. “So, if we can get him, we’d love to have him. If not, then we’re just going to have to move on without him. I think he has a lot left in the tank. If we can get him on our team, I think that would be great for us.”

Ochocinco will be competing for one of five or six receiver spots on the 53-man roster, according to The Sun-Sentinel. He has 766 catches for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns in his 11 seasons in the NFL.

Giants Star Cruz Earns His First Super Bowl Ring…

New York Giants’ star Victor Cruz has plenty of reason to salsa… He’s now the proud owner of a Super Bowl championship ring in only his second season in the National Football League.

Victor Cruz

The 25-year-old half-Puerto Rican wide receiver scored the first touchdown of the night during Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday to help lead the Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in a tightly-contested match.

New England almost forced a turnover and prevented a score during the Giants’ 10-play, 78-yard drive, but a Cruz fumble on third down in the red zone was undone by a 12 men on the field penalty, which gave the Giants a first and goal. They managed to convert with the scoring pass from Eli Manning, who was named this year’s Super Bowl MVP, to Cruz.

Following his touchdown—at the 3:24 mark in the first quarterthe All-Pro selection even celebrated by doing what he’s done all season long… dance salsa in the end zone… in front of more than 100 million people worldwide.

The New Jersey-born Cruz attended the University of Massachusetts and scored 11 touchdowns in his career and had just under 2,000 receiving yards.

Click here to watch an interview with Cruz reflecting on his improbable journey.

But Cruz wasn’t the only Latino to score a touchdown during the Super Bowl game…

Aaron Hernandez

In the third quarter, Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez caught a 12-yard pass from Tom Brady to put the Patriots up 17-9.

The 22-year-old Connecticut-born Hernandez—also a second year NFL player—attended the University of Florida where he, along with Tim Tebow, led the Gators to a 2009 BCS Championship. While at Florida, he was nicknamed “Chico” by his college teammates because he was the only Puerto Rican on the team, something he came to embrace.