The Minnesota Vikings started more quarterbacks in 2013 than they have had equipment managers in their 54 years. Dennis Ryan's first year with the team was the last year in which the Vikings played in a Super Bowl. Ryan joined the Vikings in 1976 as an assistant to Jim "Stubby" Eason. Dennis Ryan and Stubby Eason are the only equipment managers that the Vikings have ever known.
Moving the Minnesota Vikings from their Eden Prairie facilities to Mankato for training camp is probably the biggest job of the year for Dennis Ryan. He'll be making that move for the 39th time this week. The first five of those as an assistant to Stubby Eason. When Eason retired in 1981, Ryan took over. At 21, he was the youngest equipment manager in the NFL. Managing the equipment of an NFL team is a year-round job. The handful of weeks during and surrounding training are the most demanding. 90 players in 90 very different sizes need 90 sets of countless items. Ryan needs to keep track of all of it. As well as replacements for all of those items. Ryan has been one of the best in the league for a very long time. In 1984, he designed the first eye shield to be worn by a player in an NFL game. He created the shield to protect defensive lineman Mark Mullaney, who had suffered an eye injury in a previous game. Now, eye shields are routinely seen around the league. In 1995, Ryan received the Whitey Zimmerman Award, named for the longtime equipment manager of the Atlanta Falcons, recognizing the NFL's Equipment Manager of the Year.
The uniform and equipment of an NFL team are often taken for granted. Dennis Ryan is the name and the person behind the gear of the Minnesota Vikings.
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