Tom Flores Sets Sights on Seahawks

Former Raiders Coach Tom Flores has confirmed that he is interested in becoming general manager of the Seattle Seahawks and is discussing the position with team owner Ken Behring.

Flores, 51, coached the Raiders to two Super Bowl titles in 11 years before resigning after the 1987 season.

“Right now, I can only say I’ve talked to Ken Behring and I am talking to Ken Behring and there’s a strong possibility we’re going to talk again,” Flores told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

“There’s no set time frame yet,” Flores said in an interview Tuesday.

Division of Duties

Behring fired Seahawks President and General Manager Mike McCormack last week.

Flores, if hired, would apparently divide duties with Mike Blatt, a former player agent who reportedly acted as liaison for Behring’s purchase of the NFL club last fall and has been performing the duties McCormack vacated.

Blatt has noted that his value to the club would be negotiating and the business operation; Flores’ background has been exclusively in football.

“Obviously there’s a pretty good football coach up there now in Chuck (Knox), so it’s the general manager’s job that interests me,” Flores said. “I miss the games, I miss the players, I miss being around the game itself.”

Flores said he has known Behring since they lived near each other in the Oakland area before the Raiders moved to Los Angeles after the 1981 season.

Flores, who was with the Raiders 21 years as a quarterback, assistant coach and head coach, denied that he had received a definite job offer.

“Any comment I make (about a job offer) is really premature,” Flores said.