The Minnesota Vikings hired Alan Williams to be their defensive coordinator. He replaces Fred Pagac. Pagac replaces Mike Singletary as linebackers coach. Singletary will actually remain in some assistant coach capacity. In my opinion its a minor miracle that Singletary is still employed in football but that's just me. The only defensive coach from last season no longer with the Vikings is line coach Karl Dunbar. He was replaced by Brendan Daly. With all this juggling only secondary coach Joe Woods looks to be returning in the same role.
The most significant change is the addition of Alan Williams to lead the defense. He's been the secondary coach for the Indianapolis Colts for the last ten years. He got his NFL start with Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay. Dungy thought high enough of the young coach to bring him to Indianapolis with him. Vikings coach Leslie Frazier worked with Williams for a couple years with the Colts. Frazier should have a pretty good idea of Williams' coaching abilities. Of course, the never satisfied Vikings fan base wanted a much more splashy hire. Most just want to complain. I've been curious about Williams for a while. When Mike Tomlin left the Vikings after the 2006 season to be the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers I thought that Brad Childress might target Williams. Young secondary coach that fell from the Tony Dungy cover-2 coaching tree. Sounded exactly like Tomlin. Turns out that I had the right team. I just had the wrong coach. Childress chose Leslie Frazier. Williams might not have been ready then to be in charge of a defense. He should be ready now. I think that this is an excellent hire. Nobody had success in Indianapolis last year. Prior to that the Colts were a decade long success story. Williams was a big part of that. From Bob Sanders to Antoine Bethea, he helped develop several excellent defensive backs. Perhaps his greatest effort was in getting rookie corners Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey to play at a high level immediately. I think that the Vikings got Williams at the right stage of his career. Far enough into it that he really knows NFL defenses and offenses and early enough that he has room to grow in the role. I just hope that he stays longer than Tomlin.
New defensive line coach Brendan Daly might be new to the position but he's not new to the team. Prior to his one year with the St. Louis Rams, Daly was the assistant line coach with the Vikings. So, Frazier is familiar with the two additions to his coaching staff. I was very glad to see Fred Pagac remain with the team. 2011 was a difficult season for the whole team. It wouldn't be right to highlight Pagac by firing him. He's been a fantastic position coach for the Vikings since 2006. Its great to see him stay.
The Minnesota Vikings coaching staff is now complete. Just in time for a road trip to Mobile, Alabama and a coaching gig at the Senior Bowl.
No comments:
Post a Comment