The walkthrough had just ended on Tuesday afternoon at TCO Performance Center and defensive coordinator Brian Flores was slowly making his way to the podium.

As soon as the Vikings defensive coordinator walked off the practice field, safety Josh Metellus and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips were there waiting for Flores. The trio then proceeded to walk to the podium together with Metellus and Phillips standing behind Flores in support.

It was a clear statement that the Vikings have his back — both literally and figuratively — roughly 24 hours after his character was called into question by Dolphins star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

“It meant a lot,” Flores said. “I’ve had a lot of support from a lot of people in this building and other buildings, as well. I was flooded with text messages yesterday, so that’s nice. At the same time, this is a team sport, and I don’t ever want it to be about anything that’s specific to me.”

That was unavoidable for Flores on Monday morning after a clip from “The Dan LeBatard Show” started to make the rounds on social media. In the interview, Tagovailoa spoke candidly about his former head coach, vilifying Flores for the way he treated him during their time together in Miami.

The most inflammatory remark came when Tagovailoa called Flores a “terrible person” while recounting his experience working with him on a daily basis.

Asked how he felt about that description, Flores responded, “Look, I’m human, so that hit me in a way that I wouldn’t say was positive for me.”

In the same breath, Flores noted that he’s treating this as a learning experience.

“I’ve got to use that and say, ‘Hey. How can I grow from that? How can I be better?’ ” Flores said. “That’s really where I’m at from that standpoint.”

Although he didn’t go into detail about his time with Tagovailoa, Flores seemed to acknowledge that his coaching style might have rubbed some players the wrong way.

“I’ve done a lot of reflecting on the situation and the communication,” Flores said. “I think there’s things that I could do better, for sure, and I’ve grown in that way, and I’ve tried to apply the things that I could do better.”

After confronting the situation from his past for the better of 10 minutes, Flores tried his best to bring the focus back to his present.

“I’m at a point now where I’m really trying to move forward and I’m really trying to focus on the guys here,” he said. “I’m always trying to learn and grow and evolve — really in all areas of my life. This is no different. I think at some point we’ve got to turn the page and I’m going to do that now.”

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