Resistor instead of flyback diode
The coil is not a "high voltage source", it's a current source, with the initial current being equal to the steady-state "on" current.

This only creates high voltages when the circuit impedance is high, such as when the driving transistor cuts off. If a resistor is placed in parallel with the coil, then the peak voltage across the coil will be limited to Icoil multiplied by the resistor value. Note that the voltage across the switching device will reach a value that is the power supply voltage plus the peak coil voltage.

The only reason that this method isn't more commonly used (than, say, the diode) is that the resistor also dissipates power for the entire time that the coil is on. Adding a diode in series with the resistor fixes this problem. And having the resistor (rather than just a diode) provides a faster turn-off time than the diode alone would give you.