Minnesota Vikings Coaching Ledger

Another week. Another entry in the Minnesota Vikings coaching ledger. So far this offseason, the Vikings have seen eight coaches depart Minnesota. 

Mike Pettine: Assistant Head Coach - retired

Michael Hutchings: Assistant DB Coach - swiped by Cal

Chris Kuper: Offensive Line Coach - contract expired 

Marcus Dixon: Defensive Line Coach - contract expired

Daronte Jones: DB Coach/Pass Game Coordinator - swiped by Washington Commanders

Imarjaye Albury: Assistant DL Coach - swiped by Texas Tech

Tony Sorrentino: Assistant Receivers Coach - swiped by Arizona Cardinals

Brian Angelichio: Tight Ends Coach/Pass Game Coordinator - swiped by Pittsburgh Steelers

The coaches that were swiped by other teams left for career advancement:

Michael Hutchings - Cal DC

Daronte Jones - Washington Commanders DC

Imarjaye Albury - Texas Tech Defensive Line Coach

Tony Sorrentino - Arizona Cardinals WR Coach

Brian Angelichio - Pittsburgh Steelers OC

The coaches with expired contracts quickly found new coaching homes:

Chris Kuper - Philadelphia Eagles OL Coach

Marcus Dixon - Dallas Cowboys DL Coach

To replace some of the departed coaches, the Vikings have hired five new coaches:

Frank Smith - Assistant Head Coach

Gerald Alexander - DB Coach/Pass Game Coordinator 

Ryan Nielsen - DL Coach/Run Game Coordinator

Derek Warehime - Assistant Offensive Line Coach

Kyle Caskey - Offensive Assistant

To fill two of the holes that resulted from the departures, the Vikings promoted from within.

Keith Carter - OL Coach

Ryan Cordell - Tight Ends Coach/Game Management Coordinator

By my estimation, the Vikings still have at least three coaching vacancies to fill.

Assistant Receivers Coach

Assistant Defensive Line Coach

Assistant Defensive Backs Coach

Again, the best news of this edition of the annual Minnesota Vikings coaching churn is that defensive coordinator Brian Flores signed a new contract. While he deserves another head coach opportunity, the longer he stays in Minnesota the better. 

Minnesota Vikings Current Player Personnel Structure

Three weeks ago, the Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The timing was odd as it was about three weeks later than changes of such significance are typically made. Finding a new general manager in February and getting that general manager up to speed with a new team in time for free agency and the draft is a difficult deal. Rushing any of those important processes can be crippling. Despite the timing of the move, it was still surprising to many that Vikings ownership decided to put off the search for a new general manager to after the 2026 NFL Draft. I wasn’t all that surprised. When ownership named their interim general manager, I wasn’t surprised at all.

Rob Brzezinski has been with the Vikings since 1999. He’s been the team’s salary cap wizard for nearly all of those years. He’s probably the most respected person in the front office. When asked, Mark Wilf said that Brzezinski will be considered for the permanent general manager job. I’d be very surprised if Brzezinski is even interested. He’s been crushing his full-time job for going on 30 years. If being a general manager was ever an interest, he probably would’ve expressed it long before the job was forced upon him. In my opinion, Brzezinski is simply stepping up at a time of great need. He’s doing what he must do for the team. I see Brzezinski’s temporary role at the top of the team’s personnel structure as a unifier, a consensus-builder, an argument moderator. From top to bottom, the Vikings have a bunch of skilled talent evaluators. They are the people that really do all of the grunt work. It’s the general manager that brings it all together. I’ve heard some pundits question why assistant general manager Ryan Grigson wasn’t tapped to lead after the Adofo-Mensah firing. Grigson has general manager experience with the Indianapolis Colts. Since it would’ve kept Brzezinski in his primary role, it did seem to be the easiest transition. For some reason, I’m more comfortable with Brzezinski leading the room than Grigson. I liked Grigson’s scouting background as a balance to Adofo-Mensah’s analytics but, for some reason, I don’t really want him at front of the room. It will be a challenging time but I believe that the Vikings have the people to handle it. 

To further help Brzezinski for a couple of challenging months, the Vikings wisely hired recently-retired, former Seattle Seahawks cap guy Matt Thomas. With Thomas, Emily Badis, and whatever assistance they get from Brzezinski, the contract side of things will be in good shape. 

Every offseason is a challenging. The personnel structure tweaks that preceded this offseason make it even more challenging. Perhaps the timing could’ve been better but a change needed to be made. Better late than never. The Vikings can’t afford another unproductive draft. After a significant change, here’s a look at the Vikings current player personnel structure. 

Minnesota Vikings Current Personnel Structure 

Interim General Manager: Rob Brzezinski 

Senior Vice President of Player Personnel: Ryan Grigson

Vice President of Football Operations: Demetrius Washington

Director of Player Personnel: Ryan Monnens

Assistant Director of Player Personnel: Chisom Opara

Director of Pro Personnel: Sam DeLuca

Senior Personnel Executive: Jamaal Stephenson

Director of College Scouting: Mike Sholiton

Senior College Executive: Pat Roberts

National Scout: Sean Gustus

National Scout: David Williams

College Area Scout (Midwest): Jake Essler

College Scout: Blaine Gramer

College Scout: Matt Kelly

College Scout: Steve Sabo

College Area Scout (Northeast): Michelle Mankoff

College Scout/BLESTO: Jack Murphy

Pro Scout: Salli Clavelle

Pro Scout: Alex Dale

Pro Scout: Shane Normandeau

Senior Player Personnel Analyst: Taylor Brooks

Senior Football Operations Manager: Kaitlin Zarecki

Senior Manager of Football Administration: Emily Badis

Senior Manager of Family Engagement: Quinn Gjersvig

Football Quantitative Methods Senior Analyst: Chris French

Football Quantitative Methods Analyst: Cole Bransford

Director, Football Information Systems: Luke Burson

Database Administrator: Mike Desplenter

Football Information Systems Developer: Anthony Caron

Football Information Systems Developer: Derek McCormick

Football Administration Associate: Austin Lavitt 

Player Personnel Consultant: Paul Wiggin

Scouting Associate: Dabness Atkins

Scouting Associate: Brian Schnorr

Football Operations Associate: Jordyn Hall

Family Engagement Associate: Michela Brown-Mayfield

SQL Database Associate: Grace Liebi

Football Quantitative Methods Associate: Claire Morrison

Throwback Thursday: Favorite Football Books

I bring this list back when I’m thinking about football books. Since I’m often reading a football book, I don’t actually bring it back as often as I’m thinking about them. I am this time. Here are 27 of my favorite football books. 

27. Namath: a Biography, Mark Kriegel, 2005
If you're at all curious about the Joe Namath legend this is the book to read.

26. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger, 1990
A football classic. As much sociological study as football book.

25. Going Long: The Wild Ten Year Saga of the American Football League in the Words of Those Who Lived It, Jeff Miller, 2004
Perhaps the best book on the wildly entertaining American Football League.

24. The Mannings, Lars Anderson, 2016
Any book about the Mannings that's still talking about Archie's football career 150 pages in is an entertaining read. Not to take anything away from the Manning kids but their careers are so fresh in our football minds. Archie was a very good quarterback on a very bad team. He was also one of my favorite non-Minnesota Vikings players of his era. He's a better dad. This book is as much, or more, about raising a family and relationships as it is about football. A great book.

23. About Three Bricks Shy of a Load, Roy Blount Jr., 1974
This book is an excellent season-long, inside look at the Pittsburgh Steelers just before the team took over the NFL.

22. Chuck Noll: His Life's Work, Michael MacCambridge, 2016
Blount's book took a close look at one season before the Steelers' dynasty. MacCambridge's book looks at the life of the man behind it. It's hard to imagine the Steelers being a laughing-stock but they were for nearly all of their first 40 years in the league. When Dan Rooney hired Chuck Noll in 1969 the Steelers started to change. Quickly. MacCambrige tackles one of the game's great coaches and perhaps least known.

21. Giants and Heroes: A Daughter's Memories of Y. A. Tittle, Dianne Tittle De Laet, 1998
A look at a football star from the rare perspective of his daughter. This book is simply wonderful.

20. Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe, Kate Buford, 2010
This is the best book on one of America's greatest athletes.

19. Kassulke, Karl Kassulke, 1981
The former Vikings safety delivers the wildly entertaining characters on the Minnesota Vikings of the 1960s. It's a must for Vikings fans.

18. Paper Lion, George Plimpton, 1966
George Plimpton's writing. George Plimpton's football talents. The 1963 Detroit Lions. Fun times.

17. PB: The Paul Brown Story, Paul Brown with Jack Clary, 1978
From stories of his days attending San Francisco 49ers games at Kezar Stadium in the 1940s, my father introduced me to the coaching legend of Paul Brown. As a result those Cleveland Browns teams and their coach will always have a fond place for me.

16. A Civil War, John Feinstein, 1997
A terrific, intimate look into the incredible Army-Navy rivalry.

15. Dutch Clark: The Life of an NFL Legend and the Birth of the Detroit Lions, Chris Willis, 2012

This book would probably make the list simply because of the subject. Dutch Clark is one of the best, and one of my favorite, players of the NFL’s early years. His story has been woefully covered. Chris Willis uncovered him. 

14. Finding the Winning Edge, Bill Walsh, 1997
This is the coach's manual on how to run a football team.

13. Instant Replay, Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap, 1968
Jerry Kramer's diary of the Packers 1967 season. There are a few season-long, peak-behind-the-curtains books on this list. This book is one of the first to be written and still one of the best.

12. Halas by Halas, The Autobiography of George Halas, George Halas with Gwen Morgan and Arthur Veysey, 1979
George Halas' story is the story of the NFL.

11. The Pros: A Documentary of Professional Football in America, Robert Riger with commentary from Tex Maule, 1960
This is a unique coffee table-type book. It presents the NFL to the reader through the fantastic artwork and photography of Robert Riger and commentary of Tex Maule.

10. Total Football/Total Football II, Bob Carroll, David Neft, John Thorn, and Michael Greshman, 1997/1998
You want a pro football encyclopedia? Here's your pro football encyclopedia.

9. Run to Daylight, Vince Lombardi with W.C. Heinz, 1963
Perhaps the first "inside look" football books. Vince Lombardi takes the reader through a week of preparation for a game during the 1962 season.

8. The Game That Was, Myron Cope, 1970
Some of my favorite football books are the oral histories of the early days of the game. Myron Cope reached many of the game's best in this one. Dutch Clark, Johnny Blood, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, Bulldog Turner.

7. The Pro Football Chronicle: The Complete (Well Almost Record of the Best Players, the Greatest Photos, the Hardest Hits, the Biggest Scandals), Dan Daly and Bob O'Donnell, 1990
As the title suggests the book has a lot of everything.

6. Education of a Coach, David Halberstam, 2005
What could be better than a book written by a writer like David Halberstam about a coach like Bill Belichick?

5. What a Game They Played, Richard Whittingham, 1984
This is probably the best oral history book on football. Whittingham brings the reader the voices and experiences of many of the greats that made football great. Mel Hein, Don Hutson, Sid Luckman, Sammy Baugh, and so many others.

4. Red Grange: The Life And Legacy of the NFL’s First Superstar, Chris Willis, 2019

This might be the most thoroughly researched and comprehensive book on an individual football player. And it’s a fun read. 

3. A Thinking Man's Guide To Pro Football/The New Thinking Man's Guide To Pro Football, Paul Zimmerman, 1970 and 1984
This book is so great that it had to be done twice. I only wish that there was a Newer... and Newest... editions as well. Zimmerman was probably the most knowledgeable football writer in the business. He could talk and write about the game like a coach.

2. When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, David Maraniss, 1999
The best football biography that I've read. There were a handful of years in which I had to re-read this book prior to the start of the NFL season. Just to get ready.

1. America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, Michael MacCambridge, 2005
Michael MacCambridge tells the story of the NFL since World War II through a focus on the Browns, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Raiders, and Rams. Well researched and very well written. If you want one book on the history of the NFL to read, this is it.

It’s Tagging Time

The window for NFL teams to use the franchise tag on one of their soon-to-be free agents opened yesterday. It closes on March 3. The franchise tag is a desperate tool to inhibit the movement of a prized free agent. There are two versions of the franchise tag. The “exclusive” tag prevents the tagged player from negotiating with another team. Unless the tagged player is traded, he’s staying put if the exclusive tag is slapped on him. The “non-exclusive” tag allows the tagged player to sign with another team. The player can sign with another team if that team is willing to pay the steep cost of two first-round draft picks. There’s also the rarely used transition tag. There was a time when the lesser tag was occasionally used. The transition tag simply gives the tagging team the right of first refusal. Essentially, a team is allowing another team to do the negotiation for them. Anyway, it’s tagging time.

If a player does get slapped with a tag, team and player have until July 15 to come to an agreement on a long-term deal. If not, the player gets a single-season, guaranteed deal that represents the average of the top-five salaries at each position.

Franchise Tag Numbers:

QB - $47.4 million

WR - $28.0 million

OL - $27.8 million

LB - $27.6 million

DT - $27.4 million

DE - $26.7 million

CB - $20.8 million

S - $20.8 million

TE - $16.0 million

RB - $14.2 million

K/P - $6.8 million

There’s so much that’s messed up about the above numbers. To start, the offensive line should be broken down by position. The geniuses do that with the defensive line. Speaking of the defensive line, since the big contract numbers on defense go to the pass rushers, defensive ends should be combined with 3-4 outside linebackers to form an edge rusher group. Further, combining 3-4 outside linebackers with the off-the-ball linebackers is absurd. Finally, I can’t imagine the incredibly coincidental math that shoots out the same tag numbers for corners and safeties. 

There once was a time when running back was right behind quarterbacks in offensive importance and compensation. That time wasn’t all that long ago. With that in mind, it’s stunning to see running backs ahead of only specialists in terms of compensation. 

The teams love the franchise tag. Players hate it. Teams love it because it’s another tool to restrict player movement. Since 1920, owners have loved controlling players. Players hate it because it keeps them off the open market. If the tag doesn’t lead to a long-term deal and they play the season on the franchise tag, the player sees no signing bonus. They get the great, one-year, guaranteed deal but they don’t see the much greater signing bonus. 

The franchise tag has been around since the 1993 birth of NFL Free Agency. For most of that time about a dozen players were tagged each season. Those numbers have dwindled in recent years. Only two players (Trey Smith and Tee Higgins) were tagged last season. We’ll see if more than two players are slapped with the tag this year. Here are some of the contenders for the 2026 Franchise Tag,

George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Daniel Jones, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Alec Pierce, WR, Indianapolis Colts

Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons

Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Trey Hendrickson, DE, Cincinnati Bengals 

Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets

Odafe Oweh, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers

A team can use only one tag so the Indianapolis Colts might have a decision to make. 

League’s Roster of Offensive Coordinators

The NFL’s annual head coach churn gets the attention. Makes sense. It’s the top coaching job in professional football and there’s only 32 of them. It’s an under-the-radar coaching churn but the annual shuffling of offensive coordinators can be interesting as well. There’s also only 32 offensive coordinator jobs. All of the league’s coaching changes start with the new head coaches. There were ten this year.

10 New Head Coaches

New York Giants: John Harbaugh 

Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski

Tennessee Titans: Robert Saleh

Miami Dolphins: Jeff Hafley

Baltimore Ravens: Jesse Minter

Cleveland Browns: Todd Monken

Las Vegas Raiders: Klint Kubiak

Arizona Cardinals: Mike LaFleur

Buffalo Bills: Joe Brady

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike McCarthy

Because the NFL is such a pass-centric league, teams looking for a new head coach are often looking at the hot offensive playcallers. Of the ten teams looking for a head coach, four hired a coach that worked as an offensive coordinator last year.

Todd Monken

Klint Kubiak

Mike LaFleur

Joe Brady

Only two of those left the team that employed them. 

Klint Kubiak

Mike LaFleur

Todd Monken was the offensive coordinator for John Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens. Monken lost his job when Harbaugh was fired. Joe Brady was the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills and promoted to head coach after Sean McDermott was shockingly fired. 

Because of the head coach churn, 10 teams were looking for new offensive coordinators. The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams were also looking for new offensive coordinators because Klint Kubiak and Mike LaFleur were taken from them. Another nine teams were looking for a new offensive coordinator this offseason because they weren’t satisfied with the results of last season. In total, 21 of the league’s 32 teams were looking for new OCs. About 65%. That feels like a lot.

Teams with New Offensive Coordinators

Tennessee Titans: Brian Daboll

Los Angeles Chargers: Mike McDaniel

Kansas City Chiefs: Eric Bieniemy 

Detroit Lions: Drew Petzing

Miami Dolphins: Bobby Slowik

Washington Commanders: David Blough

Atlanta Falcons: Tommy Rees

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Zac Robinson

Baltimore Ravens: Declan Doyle

Buffalo Bills: Pete Carmichael 

Philadelphia Eagles: Sean Mannion

Cleveland Browns: Travis Switzer

Denver Broncos: Davis Webb

New York Giants: Matt Nagy

New York Jets: Frank Reich

Arizona Cardinals: Nathaniel Hackett

Pittsburgh Steelers: Brian Angelichio

Chicago Bears: Press Taylor

Las Vegas Raiders: Andrew Janocko 

Seattle Seahawks: Brian Fleury

Los Angeles Rams: ?

For most of the above, the changes are just a shuffling of offensive coordinators. Brian Daboll and Mike McDaniel were head coaches last year. 14 of the 21 offensive coordinators in new places were either offensive coordinators elsewhere last year or recently. Only six of the above are first-time NFL offensive coordinators. When Sean McVay finally makes his decision (Nate Scheelhasse?), there could be a seventh. 

David Blough

Sean Mannion

Travis Switzer

Davis Webb

Brian Angelichio

Brian Fleury

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the above six newbies is that David Blough, Sean Mannion, and Davis Webb played quarterback in the league in the 2020s. With the thousands of football coaches that have done the grunt work for decades for a head coach shot, it’s shocking how quick some of these offensive-centric coaches get to this level of the football-coaching world. Blough, Mannion, and Webb are probably only a year or two from their own shots at the top job. Webb even interviewed for a couple this year. 

One of the great coaching mysteries of the NFL is how Eric Bieniemy has never gotten a head coach opportunity. He was Andy Reid’s right-hand man for the early years of the great run of the Kansas City Chiefs. He had some interviews but never offered a job. Perhaps to pave his own path to his own team, he left Kansas City after a second Super Bowl win. He even went back to college football for an assistant head coach job. Still, nothing. Now, he’s back with the Chiefs as Reid’s offensive coordinator. I’ll bet Blough, Mannion, AND Webb get a head coach job before he does. Wonder why?

Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft Monday

Here’s another stab at a mock draft for the Minnesota Vikings.

1. Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson

2. Domonique Orange, DT, Iowa State

3. Emmett Johnson, RB, Nebraska

3. Brian Parker, C, Duke

5. Ted Hurst, WR, Georgia State

6. Dallen Bentley, TE, Utah

7. Kage Casey, OT, Boise State

7. Ephesians Prysock, CB, Washington

7. Cole Payton, QB, North Dakota State

I like this draft. I wrestle with the decision of cornerback or defensive tackle with the first pick. One day, I like defensive tackles Caleb Banks or Lee Hunter. The next day, I like one of about four cornerbacks that could be available at #18. More often than not, that corner is Avieon Terrell. 

Avieon Terrell and Domonique Orange would be Day 1 starters at positions of significant need. 

Emmett Johnson is fast becoming a draft crush. 

I believe the Vikings will find their center of the present and future in the third round. In this mock, that player is Brian Parker. He played tackle at Duke but projects as a center. 

In this mock, I believe the Vikings would add two pass-catchers on Day 3, Ted Hurst and Dallen Bentley, that could make an immediate impact. 

Kage Casey, Ephesians Prysock, and Cole Payton are seventh-round swings at intriguing football players. 

While I like the players selected in this mock, I’m disappointed that I didn’t come out of it with any linebacker or safety help. To avoid that, I might have to sacrifice Emmett Johnson on Day 2. 

Minnesota Vikings Offseason Needs

Even the Super Bowl champs have offseason needs. The Minnesota Vikings have more needs than that team. Here’s an early look at some of them.

Minnesota Vikings Offseason Needs

1. Defensive Line

The Vikings defensive line is an interesting group. Last offseason’s additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave were supposed to make this position a team strength. Allen was productive but didn’t make the impact expected of him. Hargrave had a couple dominant games and that was about it. The Vikings defensive line was a decent group mostly because of the “other guys.” Undrafted, undervalued, underrated Jalen Redmond emerged as an impact player. He looked like he had something late in the 2024 season. His progression made Harrison Phillips expendable last summer. Redmond outperformed his better known linemates in 2025. He looks like a difference-maker moving forward. He’s an exclusive rights free agent so he’s easy to retain. However, Redmond is much more deserving of a better, longer-term deal than the tender that can be slapped on him. 2024 seventh-round pick Levi Drake Rodriguez developed into an impact rotational player in his second season. 2025 fifth-round pick Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins had some nice moments as a rookie. As highly as I think of Redmond, Ingram-Dawkins might have the most potential of the Vikings young defensive linemen. If he’d stayed at Georgia for another season rather than enter the 2025 NFL Draft, he might’ve been a Day 1 or 2 pick this year. He has that sort of natural talent. I believe that Hargrave will be a cap-savings cut. Allen has a nearly $24 million cap hit. That’s a big number. If the Vikings cut him, he’s still a $17 million cap hit. That’s still a big number. He was a solid player in 2025. He wasn’t the great player that he’s been in the past or that he’s paid to be. Perhaps he’s better in his second season in the Vikings defense. While I like the potential of the Vikings unheralded youngsters, especially Redmond, and hope for a rebound season from Allen, defensive line is a position that should be addressed early in the draft. I really like the talent at the position that should be available with the Vikings 18th pick in the first round. 

2. Cornerback

Byron Murphy got a nice contract last season after a Pro Bowl season in 2024. In his three seasons with the Vikings, his best season was easily his second season. It’s often been said that he’s most comfortable playing in the slot. His Pro Bowl season was the season in which he played there the most. Isaiah Rodgers had a solid first season in Minnesota. In Murphy and Rodgers, the Vikings have two starting caliber corners. Youngsters Dwight McGlothern Zemaiah Vaughn have yet to show that they are more than depth players. The Vikings need a third corner. They need an outside corner to pair with Rodgers so Murphy can play more on the inside. Corner must be addressed with either their first or second round pick. In my current opinion, it would take a special player at another position for the 18th pick to not be a cornerback. 

3. Safety

The Vikings safety group has been a team strength for most of the 2020s. They lost Cam Bynum in free agency last offseason. Franchise legend Harrison Smith MIGHT retire this offseason. If Smith doesn’t return, that’s a significant two-season hit at the position. Joshua Metellus, Theo Jackson, and Jay Ward return. Metellus’s strength is his positional versatility rather than his ability to simply play a safety role. Jackson is a solid player. Ward’s ability to handle both safety and corner roles is his strength. So far, he’s been good at both but hasn’t excelled at either. Bynum-Smith-Metellus was an excellent, versatile defensive backfield trio. The Vikings don’t have that talent or overall versatility anymore. If Smith retires, there’s a significant need for a playmaking safety. 

I believe that corner, defensive tackle, and safety are the most likely picks at #18. Probably at 49 as well.

4. Backup Quarterback

The Vikings greatest need at the quarterback position is J.J. McCarthy’s availability for all 20 games. He is the Vikings starting quarterback. The need is for a veteran backup. Hopefully, a backup that only has to take meaningless snaps at the end of an easy win. 

I don’t get the pundits and fans constantly worrying about McCarthy’s ability to stay on the field. He never had an availability issue in college. The only threat to his availability in high school was the COVID season that forced him to move from his Chicago home to Florida to play at IMG Academy. Sure, he lost his rookie season to a knee injury. He missed games last season to an ankle injury from a hip-drop tackle. That’s an injury from an illegal tackle. He missed a game to a concussion. He missed a game due to a hand injury from smacking a helmet on a follow through. Sure, four injuries in only two seasons is an eye-opening number. Other than the knee injury that wiped out his rookie season, his injuries feel more random than problematic. He does have to get smarter in how he plays. He’s aggressive. I like his aggressiveness but he has to be smarter about it. He doesn’t have the frame for how he often plays. 

For whatever reason, J.J. McCarthy is bashed more than any young quarterback I’ve seen. Locally, I feel that Christian Ponder was given a more forgiving run as the Vikings quarterback. He never once showed the promise in four seasons that I saw in McCarthy’s 10 starts last season. More recently, despite absolutely reckless play Jaxson Dart is seen by many, locally and nationally, as the savior of the New York Giants. He looked lost against the Vikings defense. He was worse in that game than McCarthy was in any game last season. I’m biased as a McCarthy-believer but I saw more promise than concern in his play last season. Despite my optimism that he’ll play a complete season, the Vikings need a reliable, veteran backup quarterback. It’s the quarterback position. That means it’s a significant offseason need. 

5. Running Back

This position need is based on the assumption that Aaron Jones is a cap casualty. Jordan Mason is a very good running back. I have faith in him as RB1. Still, a backfield partner is a need. Topped by Kenneth Walker, Travis Etienne, and Breece Hall there are some strong options in free agency. While top running back contracts run far behind some other positions, signing one of the top free agent backs might not be the best idea for a team with salary cap concerns. This isn’t a strong running back draft but there are some intriguing options that should be available in the middle rounds. Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson, Arkansas’s Michael Washington Jr., or Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton would pair nicely with Mason. 

6. Wide Receiver

Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are one of the league’s best receiving duos. A position group topped by those two doesn’t feel like a need. The Vikings need more than two receivers. Re-signing Jalen Nailor would be a dream. He might find a deal from another team that the Vikings can’t afford to match. 2025 third-round pick Tai Felton is next up but is still an unknown. He contributed more on special teams than offense. Whether it’s Felton or not, the Vikings need two receivers to effectively back up Jefferson and Addison. 

7. Linebacker

This position probably should be higher as Blake Cashman is the only certainty. I expect the Vikings to re-sign Eric Wilson. He was a revelation last season. Cashman and Wilson would be a nice duo but both will be over 30 next season. After being passed by Wilson, Ivan Pace was mostly a special teams staple. He’s a restricted free agent. If Cashman, Wilson, and Pace are all on the roster next season, they have a competent trio. The Vikings need to get younger and deeper at linebacker. 

8. Offensive Line

With Ryan Kelly likely headed to retirement, the Vikings will need a starting center. I believe that they will find that starter in the third round of the draft. 

In my opinion, the single issue that kept the Vikings on the outside of the playoffs was the play of the offensive line. Most of the group’s problems were the result of injuries. The Vikings never knew who was going to be available from game to game. Sometimes, they wouldn’t know who was going to be available from quarter to quarter. The wildly inconsistent play of the offensive line got J.J. McCarthy injured three times and put Carson Wentz on injured reserve. Playing three quarterbacks, with undrafted rookie Max Brosmer being one of them, was the reason the Vikings didn’t make the playoffs. If McCarthy played 17 games, the Vikings probably win at least 11 games. So, the Vikings need their starting offensive line to play all of the games. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw and left guard Donovan Jackson should form an outstanding left side, one of the league’s best. Right tackle Brian O’Neill and right guard Will Fries should form a strong right side. Find a center and the Vikings have an excellent starting five. Now, those five have to play most of the games. Better depth is needed. O’Neill turns 31 at the start of the 2026 season. He’s still playing at a high level but it’d be nice to start grooming his replacement. 

9. Tight End

The Vikings likely have a T.J. Hockenson question to answer this offseason. My hope is that he’s agreeable to a re-do of his contract. If he’s not, he might be released. With Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Ben Sims, Ben Yurosek, and Gavin Bartholomew currently on the roster, tight end is closer to a strength than a weakness. Without Hockenson, it’s a significant need. 

10. Special Teams

Punter Ryan Wright and long snapper Andrew DePaola are set to be free agents. If both are re-signed, the kicking battery of Wright, DePaola, and kicker Will Reichard is a strength. When he kept the ball in his hands, returner Myles Price was impactful as a rookie. He’s an interesting returner in that I don’t think that he has the long speed that the best returners typically have. He seems to get his yards with nimble feet and vision. I like him but a more explosive returner could challenge him in training camp. 

While the above needs are numbered from 1-10 it’s more of a soft ranking. For example: on paper, linebacker might be the greatest need as Blake Cashman is the only one currently under contract for next season. I have defensive line, cornerback, and safety at 1-3 partly because I see those as the greatest needs early in the draft. Part of that is because those positions match the talent I see projected as available for those picks. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings first five picks in the draft are some order of defensive tackle, cornerback, safety, center, and running back. If the Vikings address any of those positions in free agency, it’s probably center and/or corner. Running back is tempting because of the players potentially available. Ultimately, I think going with Jordan Mason and a rookie with Zavier Scott is the better option. 

A Couple More Minnesota Vikings Coaching Tweaks

The Minnesota Vikings coaching tweaks never seem to stop coming. They made a couple tweaks on Thursday. They made a couple more yesterday. 

When offensive line coach Chris Kuper’s contract wasn’t renewed after the season, the Vikings promoted assistant offensive line coach Keith Carter to the top job at the position. Carter had far more experience leading the offensive line than most assistant offensive line coaches, so his promotion wasn’t much of a surprise. Some have questioned the move as Carter has had a contentious history with some of his players. Head coach Kevin O’Connell and the rest of the team saw him on the field and in the building last season and are apparently confident in the promotion. Besides, Brian Flores had a very contentious history with at least one of his very vocal players. With Carter’s promotion, the Vikings needed an assistant offensive line coach. They found their coach in college.

Derek Warehime - Kentucky Run Game Coordinator

Derek Warehime was hired at Kentucky in December so he never coached a game for the Wildcats. He was the offensive line coach/run game coordinator at Coastal Carolina from 2023-25. The Chanticleers did some interesting things in the run game. I’m intrigued by the possibilities his addition brings. So often, NFL teams fill out their coaching rosters with familiar NFL coaches. I like it when teams bring in a coach, or two, or more, from the colleges. From the wider hash-marks to talent disparity, college football is very different than NFL football. Incorporating some of the things done by talented college coaches into an NFL team can be a good thing. In total, Warehime has about 20 years of coaching college football. 

The Vikings best coaching move of the offseason was keeping Brian Flores in Minnesota. The next best was the hiring of Frank Smith as assistant head coach. I’ve often wished that the Vikings would incorporate some of the spicy run schemes and plays that routinely see from other teams. Those schemes and teams all come from coaches in the Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay coaching trees. The Vikings and Kevin O’Connell need some of that. The Vikings run game always looks so routine. Mike McDaniel got the Miami Dolphins head coach in 2022 for the run game he created with Kyle Shanahan for the San Francisco 49ers. Frank Smith was McDaniel’s offensive coordinator in Miami. When Chris Kuper departed, Frank Smith was my first choice to replace him. My worry was that Smith was more on the level offensive coordinator or even an under-the-radar head coach candidate. He’d long moved past the offensive line coach level. So, the Vikings hired him as assistant head coach. I like the addition of new offensive ideas with the coaching additions of Frank Smith and Derek Warehime. 

With the Pittsburgh Steelers swiping tight end coach/pass game coordinator Brian Angelichio, the Vikings needed a new tight end coach. As with the offensive line, the new coach was found within the building. Ryan Cordell has been with the Vikings since Kevin O’Connell was hired in 2022. He’s had the curious title of game management coordinator/pass game specialist. One of his tasks was holding weekly “situational master” presentations for the team. Based on film and game research, he’d address potential situations the team might face in future games. He also assisted Angelichio with the tight ends. Now, the position is his too coach. He’ll also retain his role as game management coordinator. It appears the “situational master” presentations will continue. O’Connell has often mentioned how impactful those meetings have been. 

The Vikings added a coach from the college ranks. They also lost one to the college ranks. For six years Imarjaye Albury Sr. has been a rising coach for the Vikings. From quality control to defensive assistant to assistant defensive line coach his trajectory has been a consistently upwards one. So much so that I imagine he might’ve been disappointed that he wasn’t tapped to replace Marcus Dixon as the team’s defensive line coach. The Vikings hired the extremely experienced Ryan Nielsen as defensive line/run game coordinator. Yesterday, Albury announced that he was headed to Texas Tech as the Red Raiders defensive line coach. It’s a great and much deserved opportunity. While I’m thrilled with the addition of Nielsen, I hate to see Albury leave. 

Summation of the recent Vikings coaching tweaks:

Promoted: Ryan Cordell - tight ends/game management coordinator

Added: Derek Warehime - assistant offensive line coach

Lost: Imarjaye Albury Sr. - swiped by Texas Tech

Hopefully, the Vikings aren’t further raided by the 31 parasitic teams in the league. Or the 100s of college football teams. 

For now, here is the current coaching staff of the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Kevin O’Connell

Assistant Head Coach: Frank Smith

Offensive Coordinator: Wes Phillips

Defensive Coordinator: Brian Flores

Special Teams Coordinator: Matt Daniels

Offense:

Quarterbacks: Josh McCown

Assistant Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Quarterbacks: Jordan Traylor

Senior Offensive Assistant: Chris O’Hara

Running Backs/Run Game Coordinator: Curtis Modkins

Receivers: Keenan McCardell

Assistant Receivers: ?

Tight Ends/Game Management Coordinator: Ryan Cordell

Offensive Line: Keith Carter

Assistant Offensive Line: Derek Warehime

Quality Control: Derron Montgomery

Offensive Assistant: Ben Ellefson

Assistant to the Head Coach: Henry Schneider IV

Defense:

Defensive Line/Run Game Coordinator: Ryan Nielsen

Assistant Defensive Line: ?

Outside Linebackers: Thad Bogardus

Assistant Outside Linebackers: Patrick Hill

Inside Linebackers: Mike Siravo 

Defensive Backs/Pass Game Coordinator: Gerald Alexander

Defensive Backs Assistant: ?

Defensive Quality Control: Chenzo Funari

Defensive Assistant: Charlie Frye

Special Teams:

Assistant Special Teams: Dalmin Gibson

I see the Vikings needing the following coaches:

Assistant receivers

Assistant defensive line

Assistant defensive back

Those are three of the biggest position groups. Keenan McCardell, Ryan Nielsen, and Gerald Alexander could each use an assistant. There also remains a coaching roster curiosity. The Vikings website lists Nielsen as only the defensive run game coordinator. I’ve assumed, and many seem to assume, that he’s also coaching the defensive line. He has a strong history in that role. It’s what got him a couple defensive coordinator jobs. He even interviewed for the Vikings job that went to Brian Flores. If the website is accurate, there might still be a need for a defensive line coach that works with Nielsen. It also remains to be seen if the Vikings give a coach the pass game coordinator title that was held by Brian Angelichio. My guess is that McCardell gets the title. 

Until the next tweak. 

More Minnesota Vikings Coaching Tweaks

Every offseason brings changes to the coaching staffs across the NFL. Those changes range from overhauls to tweaks. The Minnesota Vikings are going through tweaks to their roster of coaches. The most impactful potential change was one that didn’t happen. Every offseason after he arrived in 2023, defensive coordinator Brian Flores deserved a head coaching opportunity. This was the third offseason that he was denied one of those opportunities. Remarkably, he only interviewed for two of this year’s ten head coach vacancies. The stupidity of the rest of the league is the Vikings gain. Flores continues as the team’s defensive coordinator. His new deal to remain in Minnesota reportedly makes him the highest paid assistant coach in the league. It’s deserving as he’s been outstanding. 

Brian Flores stays in Minnesota but seven coaches, so far, have departed.

Assistant Head Coach Mike Pettine - retired

Defensive Backs/Pass Game Coordinator Daronte Jones - swiped by Washington Commanders

Safeties Coach Michael Hutchings - swiped by Cal

Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper - contract expired/hired by Philadelphia Eagles

Defensive Line Coach Marcus Dixon - contract expired/hired by Dallas Cowboys 

Tight Ends/Pass Game Coordinator Brian Angelichio - swiped by Pittsburgh Steelers

Assistant Receivers Coach Tony Sorrentino - swiped by Arizona Cardinals

A couple weeks ago, the Vikings announced the hiring of three coaches:

Frank Smith - Assistant Head Coach

Gerald Alexander - Secondary/Pass Game Coordinator

Ryan Nielsen - Defensive Line/Run Game Coordinator

The Vikings also promoted assistant offensive line coach Keith Carter to replace Chris Kuper as offensive line coach. Over the days since those announcements, teams with new head coaches have raided the Vikings coaching staff. Mike McCarthy swiped Brian Angelichio to be the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike LaFleur swiped Tony Sorrentino to be the receivers coach of the Arizona Cardinals. To replace Angelichio as tight ends coach/pass game coordinator, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell promoted Ryan Cordell. For all of O’Connell’s four years Cordell has been the game management coordinator/pass game specialist. In that role, he’s prepared the team for games with his weekly “situational masters” meetings. 

With seven departures, so far, the Vikings are slowly moving past just coaching tweaks this offseason. Seven coaches is about a quarter of the entire staff. There have been three external hires in Frank Smith, Gerald Alexander, and Ryan Nielsen. Keith Carter and Ryan Cordell were promoted. Those promotions filled a vacancy but created another. They also might need someone to take up Cordell’s varied and nebulous roles. One coach currently on the staff that intrigues for that job is defensive quality control coach Chenzo Funari. With an aeronautical engineering degree from Ohio State, he’s literally a rocket scientist. He’s very much on the analytics side of football with a mind for game strategy. With seven departures and only three outside additions, simple math says that the Vikings still need four coaches. Assistants are definitely needed on the offensive line, at receiver, and in the secondary. Offensive line and the secondary are two of the largest position groups on the team. Receiver isn’t far behind. Keith Carter, Gerald Alexander, and Keenan McCardell could use some help. 

Hopefully, the Vikings aren’t further raided by the 31 parasitic teams in the league. 

For now, here is the current coaching staff of the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Kevin O’Connell

Assistant Head Coach: Frank Smith

Offensive Coordinator: Wes Phillips

Defensive Coordinator: Brian Flores

Special Teams Coordinator: Matt Daniels

Offense:

Quarterbacks: Josh McCown

Assistant Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Quarterbacks: Jordan Traylor

Senior Offensive Assistant: Chris O’Hara

Running Backs/Run Game Coordinator: Curtis Modkins

Receivers: Keenan McCardell

Assistant Receivers: ?

Tight Ends/Pass Game Coordinator: Ryan Cordell

Offensive Line: Keith Carter

Assistant Offensive Line: ?

Quality Control: Derron Montgomery

Offensive Assistant: Ben Ellefson

Assistant to the Head Coach: Henry Schneider IV

Defense:

Defensive Line/Run Game Coordinator: Ryan Nielsen

Assistant Defensive Line: Imarjae Albury Sr.

Outside Linebackers: Thad Bogardus

Assistant Outside Linebackers: Patrick Hill

Inside Linebackers: Mike Siravo 

Defensive Backs/Pass Game Coordinator: Gerald Alexander

Defensive Backs Assistant: ?

Defensive Quality Control: Chenzo Funari

Defensive Assistant: Charlie Frye

Special Teams:

Assistant Special Teams: Dalmin Gibson

2026 NFL Draft Player Rankings: By Position

Super Bowl LX is in the books. The Scouting Combine is a couple weeks away. It’s 2026 NFL Draft season. Here’s a look at five of the top draft prospects at each position.

2026 NFL Draft Player Rankings: By Position

Quarterbacks

1. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

2. *Trinidad Chambliss, Mississippi

3. Ty Simpson, Alabama

4. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

5. Carson Beck, Miami

*-Trinidad Chambliss is challenging the NCAA for another year of eligibility. If he’s in this class, Chambliss is QB2 in this draft class.

Running Backs

1. Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame

2. Jadarian Price, Notre Dame

3. Emmitt Johnson, Nebraska

4. Jonah Coleman, Washington

5. Nicholas Singleton, Penn State

Receivers

1. Carnell Tate, Ohio State

2. Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State

3. Makai Lemon, USC

4. KC Concepcion, Texas A&M

5. Denzel Boston, Washington

Tight Ends

1. Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon

2. Max Klare, Ohio State

3. Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt

4. Jack Endries, Texas

5. Dallen Bentley, Utah

Offensive Tackles

1. Spencer Fano, Utah

2. Francis Mauigoa, Miami

3. Monroe Freeling, Georgia

4. Kadyn Proctor, Alabama

5. Max Iheanachor, Arizona State

Guards

1. Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State

2. Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M

3. Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon

4. Keylan Rutledge, Georgia Tech

5. Gennings Dunker, Iowa

Centers

1. Connor Lew, Auburn

2. Logan Jones, Iowa

3. Jake Slaughter, Florida

4. Sam Hecht, Kansas

5. Trey Zuhn III

Edge

1. Rueben Bain Jr., Miami

2. David Bailey, Texas A&M

3. Kendric Faulk, Auburn

4. Akheem Mesidor, Miami

5. Cashius Howell, Texas A&M

Defensive Tackles

1. Caleb Banks, Florida

2. Lee Hunter, Texas Tech

3. Peter Woods, Clemson

4. Kayden McDonald, Ohio State

5. Christen Miller, Georgia

Linebackers

1. Arvell Reese, Ohio State

2. Sonny Styles, Ohio State

3. CJ Allen, Georgia

4. Jake Golday, Cincinnati

5. Anthony Hill Jr., Texas

Cornerbacks

1. Mansoor Delane, LSU

2. Jermod McCoy, Tennessee

3. Avieon Terrell, Clemson

4. Brandon Cisse, South Carolina

5. D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana

Safeties

1. Caleb Downs, Ohio State

2. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo

3. Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh

4. Dillon Thieneman, Oregon

5. Bud Clark, TCU

Flea Flicker Mock Draft 1.0

The Super Bowl is in the books. The first round order of the 2026 NFL Draft is set. Here’s a first swing at a mock draft. 

1.   Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana

2.   New York Jets: Arvell Reese, Edge, Ohio State

3.   Arizona Cardinals: Spencer Fano, OT, Utah

4.   Tennessee Titans: Rueben Bain Jr., Edge, Miami 

5.   New York Giants: Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami

6.   Cleveland Browns: David Bailey, Edge, Texas Tech

7.   Washington Commanders: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State

8.   New Orleans Saints: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame

9.   Kansas City Chiefs: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State

10. Cincinnati Bengals: Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee

11. Miami Dolphins: Mansoor Delane, CB, Miami

12. Dallas Cowboys: Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M

13. Los Angeles Rams (from Falcons): Makai Lemon, WR, USC

14. Baltimore Ravens: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Olaivavega Ioane, G, Penn State

16. New York Jets (from Colts): Jordan Tyson, WR, Arizona State

17. Detroit Lions: Keldric Faulk, Edge, Auburn

18. Minnesota Vikings: Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina

19. Carolina Panthers: KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M

20. Dallas Cowboys (from Packers): Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson

21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Denzel Boston, WR, Washington

22. Los Angeles Chargers: Peter Woods, DL, Clemson

23. Philadelphia Eagles: Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami

24. Cleveland Browns (from Jaguars): Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama

25. Chicago Bears: Caleb Banks, DL, Florida

26. Buffalo Bills: CJ Allen, LB, Georgia

27. San Francisco 49ers: Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia

28. Houston Texans: Blake Miller, OT, Clemson

29. Los Angeles Rams: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo

30. Denver Broncos: Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon

31. New England Patriots: Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah

32. Seattle Seahawks: Jadarian Price, RB, Notre Dame

2026 NFL Draft First Round Order

With the Super Bowl in the books, the order of the 2026 NFL Draft is now set. Compensatory picks will be announced at a later date. Those will only impact the order after the second round. Here’s the first round.

2026 NFL Draft First Round Order

1.   Las Vegas Raiders

2.   New York Jets

3.   Arizona Cardinals

4.   Tennessee Titans

5.   New York Giants

6.   Cleveland Browns

7.   Washington Commanders

8.   New Orleans Saints

9.   Kansas City Chiefs

10. Cincinnati Bengals 

11. Miami Dolphins

12. Dallas Cowboys

13. Los Angeles Rams (from Falcons)

14. Baltimore Ravens

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

16. New York Jets (from Colts)

17. Detroit Lions

18. Minnesota Vikings

19. Carolina Panthers

20. Dallas Cowboys (from Packers)

21. Pittsburgh Steelers 

22. Los Angeles Chargers 

23. Philadelphia Eagles 

24. Cleveland Browns (from Jaguars)

25. Chicago Bears

26. Buffalo Bills

27. San Francisco 49ers

28. Houston Texans

29. Los Angeles Rams

30. Denver Broncos

31. New England Patriots

32. Seattle Seahawks

Teams with 2 picks:

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Dallas Cowboys

Cleveland Browns

Teams with no picks:

Atlanta Falcons

Indianapolis Colts 

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Potential 2026 Minnesota Vikings Starters

Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks. And especially Sam Darnold. Someone had to win the Super Bowl this year. 

Now on to more important things.

Just for post-Super Bowl giggles, here’s a look at a potential 2026 Minnesota Vikings lineup. Until Harrison Smith makes it official, I have him riding off into his much deserved retirement with a Super Bowl win.

2026 Minnesota Vikings Starters?

Offense

Quarterback 

J.J. McCarthy

Running Back

Jordan Mason

Travis Etienne (free agent)

Fullback

?

C.J. Ham has retired. It will be interesting to see if the Vikings add another fullback or join the teams pushing for the extinction of the position. 

Wide Receiver

Justin Jefferson

Jordan Addison

Tight End

T.J. Hockenson

Tackles

Christian Darrisaw

Brian O’Neill

Guards

Donovan Jackson

Will Fries

Center

Jake Slaughter (rookie)

Defense

Defensive Line

Jalen Redmond

Lee Hunter (rookie)

Jonathan Allen

Linebackers

Jonathan Greenard

Blake Cashman

Eric Wilson

Andrew Van Ginkel

Dallas Turner isn’t among the above but he’ll get the snaps of a starter. 

Cornerbacks

Byron Murphy Jr.

Isaiah Rodgers

Mansoor Delane (rookie)

Safeties

Harrison Smith

Joshua Metellus

Kyle Louis (rookie)

Special Teams

Kicker

Will Reichard

Punter

Ryan Wright

Long Snapper

Andrew DePaola

Returner

Myles Price

Flea Flicker Super Bowl Prediction

In a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, the Seattle Seahawks play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. The first one was a fun game as Patriots corner Malcolm Butler swiped the game from the Seahawks in the final seconds. Butler’s interception at the goal line with 26 seconds to play was a stunner. Many have moaned over the years that Pete Carroll and his play-callers blew the game by not simply handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch. Actually, Russell Wilson lost it when he forced a pass into a crowd. In the moment, the play-call wasn’t the mistake. The execution was. 26 seconds left in the game, a timeout, second-and-goal from the one, the Seahawks held the keys to the game. Carroll expected the Patriots to call a timeout. Bill Belichick, the coach that should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, let the clock run. It was a surprising decision in the moment and seemed to panic the Seahawks. Still, the situation on the field favored the Seahawks. If Wilson didn’t have his receiver at the snap, throw the ball away. It’s a simple and immediate decision. Wilson failed that moment. Throw the ball away. About 20 seconds left, a timeout, third-and-goal from the one, the Seahawks would’ve still held the keys to the game. The Seahawks mistake at the end of Super Bowl XLIX was the execution, not the play-call. The NFL Films work documenting the Patriots execution of the game’s critical moments is outstanding. From the coaches box to the sidelines, Belichick, the Patriots coaches, and players simply and calmly did their jobs. The Patriots were in control of their situation while the Seahawks looked panicky.

The Patriots have been to a bunch of Super Bowls in the 2000s. The best thing about those appearances is that every one of those games was entertaining. For a football fan without a team in the game, that’s a very good thing. A shitty Super Bowl is a shitty way to end a season. Except for the winning team and their fans, a blowout is a shitty football game. All of those entertaining Patriots Super Bowls included Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. There’s no certainty that it carries over to Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye. I’m hoping for an entertaining Super Bowl LX. Here’s a guess at the game. 

Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots

Pick: Patriots

This is tough. From offense to defense to special teams, the Seahawks are the better team. I believe that each defense could overwhelm their opposing offense. This game could become a low-scoring slugfest. Perhaps a defensive or special teams score wins it. If the game plays like that, I’m leaning Patriots. 

All - Time Super Bowl Team

59 Super Bowls bring out some of the best football players to ever play the game. On the eve of Super Bowl LX, here’s a team of those great players. 

All - Time Super Bowl Team

Offense

Quarterback 

Tom Brady, New England Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Running Back

Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys

Fullback

Larry Csonka, Miami Dolphins

Ends

Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

Tight End

Rob Gronkowski. New England Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Tackles

Art Shell, Oakland Raiders

Forrest Gregg, Green Bay Packers

Guards

John Ayers San Francisco 49ers

Larry Little, Miami Dolphins 

Center

Mike Webster, Pittsburgh Steelers

Defense

Defensive Ends

Reggie White, Green Bay Packers

Willie Davis, Green Bay Packers

Defensive Tackles

Alan Page, Minnesota Vikings

Manny Fernandez, Miami Dolphins

Linebackers

Lawrence Taylor, New York Giants

Jack Lambert, Pittsburgh Steelers

Jack Ham, Pittsburgh Steelers

Cornerbacks

Mel Blount, Pittsburgh Steelers

Deion Sanders, San Francisco 49ers/Dallas Cowboys

Safeties

Jake Scott, Miami Dolphins

Ronnie Lott, San Francisco 49ers

Special Teams

Kicker

Adam Vinatieri, New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts

Punter

Ray Guy, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders

Returner

Desmond Howard, Green Bay Packers

Assuming that Rob Gronkowski makes the Pro Hall of Fame next year and teammate Tom Brady makes it whenever, John Ayers, Jake Scott, Manny Fernandez, and Desmond Howard are the only players on this team without a Canton bust. Ayers was always an underrated player on those great 49ers teams. Scott and Howard were Super Bowl MVPs. Fernandez should’ve received the MVP that went to Larry Csonka. Scott has a Hall of Fame argument that hasn’t been properly argued. 

The coach of this team of Super Bowl greats is an easy choice. 

Bill Belichick

It will forever be astonishing that 11 supposedly astute observers of professional football decided that Bill Belichick isn’t a first ballot Hall of Famer. Belichick is as deserving of the honor as Jerry Rice, Reggie White, and Lawrence Taylor. I hope those 11 dipshits are happy. 

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026

The hardware for the 2025 season was handed out last night at NFL Honors. Congratulations on the winners of the awards. On most occasions, it’s the announcement of the upcoming Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame that holds my interest. This year was no different. 

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026

Drew Brees

Larry Fitzgerald

Luke Kuechly

Adam Vinatieri

Roger Craig

If Kevin Williams had managed to make it through the process, this Class would rank with my favorites. Watching Larry Fitzgerald and Luke Kuechly play football was so much fun. They are two of my favorite non-Minnesota Vikings players of any era. With Fitzgerald’s Minnesota roots it feels as if he’s Vikings-adjacent. As the team’s ball boy during Vikings training camps in the late-1990s, Fitzgerald joined Cris Carter and Randy Moss as future Pro Football Hall of Fame receivers on those Mankato practice fields. I’d probably hold Drew Brees in higher esteem if it wasn’t for his bounty-gating New Orleans Saints teams. Despite playing in the long shadow of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, Brees was a brilliant, exciting quarterback. There aren’t many in Pro Football Hall of Fame for exclusively special teams. Adam Vinatieri deserves to be one of them. He’s the league’s all-time leading scorer. He has Super Bowl-winning kicks. He’s arguably the best kicker in league history. Despite the position he played, Vinatieri had the sort of career that’s deserving of an early entry into Canton. Finally, Roger Craig finally made it. I suppose that he had a long Hall wait because his career stats don’t rank with the best running back’s in league history. The 1980s San Francisco 49ers were one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history. Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Fred Dean, and Charles Haley are the only players from those teams in Canton. Haley made it for his Dallas days as much as his 49ers days. As great as Montana and Rice were, Craig was often the engine of the offense. He should’ve made it to the Hall of Fame before he his the Senior pool. 

It’s unfortunate that the highlight of this terrific Pro Football Hall of Fame Class is a person not in it. There isn’t a single reason for Bill Belichick to not make it to Canton in his first year of eligibility. He’s more deserving of that honor than Drew Brees or Larry Fitzgerald. It doesn’t even seem possible. Yet, here we are. Part of the reason is an ludicrous voting process. One that that’s seen its last days. It should never have seen any days. The biggest reason Belichick isn’t part of this Class is the 11 idiots that didn’t vote for him. I don’t give a shit about their reasons. They can talk in circles about the reasoning but it’s only ever going to come down to spite. The voters are trusted with honoring the history of pro football. The 11 idiots spit on that trust and punished someone they personally didn’t like. Oh, Belichick is going to get to Canton. That’s what those 11 idiots will say to make themselves feel better, to make them feel like they’re still honoring pro football’s great history. Well, the damage is already done. They’ve taken away the honor of being a first ballot Hall of Famer. It’s what Bill Belichick deserved. It’s what his career deserved. Poof. Gone.

It sure would’ve been nice to see Kevin Williams and especially Bill Belichick round out this Class. As it stands, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a great, fun Class. Congratulations to the five new Pro Football Hall of Famers. See you in Canton in August. 

Ranking The 59 Super Bowls

In a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots have emerged as the participants in Super Bowl LX. The first one was a pretty good game. Hopefully, this rematch is a pretty good game. The following is a ranking of the fifty-nine Super Bowls. Hopefully, Super LV finds a high spot in next year’s ranking. 

59. Super Bowl IV-Kansas City Chiefs 23, Minnesota Vikings 7

58. Super Bowl VIII-Miami Dolphins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7

57. Super Bowl IX-Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Minnesota Vikings 6

56. Super Bowl XI-Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14

55. Super Bowl XXIV-San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10

54. Super Bowl XLVIII-Seattle Seahawks 43, Denver Broncos 8

53. Super Bowl XX-Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10

52. Super Bowl XXXV-Baltimore Ravens 34, New York Giants 7

51. Super Bowl XXIX-San Francisco 49ers 49, San Diego Chargers 26

50. Super Bowl XXXVII-Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21

49. Super Bowl XXII-Washington Redskins 42, Denver Broncos 10

48. Super Bowl XXVII-Dallas Cowboys 52, Buffalo Bills 17

47. Super Bowl XII-Dallas Cowboys 27, Denver Broncos 10

46. Super Bowl XXXIII Denver Broncos 34, Atlanta Falcons 19

45. Super Bowl XVIII Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington Redskins 9

44. Super Bowl XXVI-Washington Redskins 37, Buffalo Bills 24

43. Super Bowl XV-Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10

42. Super Bowl I-Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10

41. Super Bowl VI-Dallas Cowboys 24, Miami Dolphins 3

40. Super Bowl XL-Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Seattle Seahawks 10

39. Super Bowl XLI-Indianapolis Colts 29, Chicago Bears 17

38. Super Bowl II-Green Bay Packers 33, Oakland Raiders 14

37. Super Bowl XIX-San Francisco 49ers, 38, Miami Dolphins 16

36. Super Bowl V-Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas Cowboys 13

35. Super Bowl VII-Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7

34. Super Bowl XXVIII-Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13

33. Super Bowl XXI-New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20

32. Super Bowl XLIX-Philadelphia Eagles 40, Kansas City Chiefs 22

31. Super Bowl LV-Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Kansas City Chiefs 9
30. Super Bowl XXXI-Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21

29. Super Bowl XXX-Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
28. Super Bowl L-Denver Broncos 24, Carolina Panthers 10
27. Super Bowl XVII-Washington Redskins 27, Miami Dolphins 17

26. Super Bowl XLIV-New Orleans Saints 31, Indianapolis Colts 17
25. Super Bowl LIII-New England Patriots 13, Los Angeles Rams 3
24. Super Bowl XXXIX-New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21

23. Super Bowl XLV-Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25

22. Super Bowl XLVI-New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17

21. Super Bowl XXXII-Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24

20. Super Bowl III-New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7

19. Super Bowl XLVII-Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31
18. Super Bowl XXXIV-St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16

17. Super Bowl XXXVI-New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17

16. Super Bowl XIV-Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Los Angeles Rams 19

15. Super Bowl LIV-Kansas City Chiefs 31, San Francisco 49ers 20

14. Super Bowl XVI-San Francisco 49ers 26, Cincinnati Bengals 21

13. Super Bowl LVI-Los Angeles Rams 23, Cincinnati Bengals 20

12. Super Bowl LII-Philadelphia Eagles 41, New England Patriots 33

11. Super Bowl LVII-Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35
10. Super Bowl X-Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17

  9. Super Bowl XXIII-San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16

  8. Super Bowl LVIII-Kansas City Chiefs 25, San Francisco 49ers 22

  7. Super Bowl XXV-New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19

  6. Super Bowl XXXVIII-New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29

  5. Super Bowl XLII-New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14

  4. Super Bowl LI-New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28
  3. Super Bowl XLIX-New England Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24
  2. Super Bowl XLIII-Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23

  1. Super Bowl XIII-Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31

Minnesota Vikings General Manager Candidates

After the surprising firing of Kwesi Adofo-Menash hit the books, attention turned to who will be the next general manager of the Minnesota Vikings. It’s a bit early as team ownership said that the decision won’t be made until after the 2026 NFL Draft. Between now and then, Rob Brzezinski will oversee the personnel department. His title is Executive Vice President - Football Operations. His primary responsibility is the salary cap and negotiating contracts. He’s been with the Vikings since 1999 and has become one of the most respected and valued executives. As the interim general manager, I see his role as a unifier and a tie-breaker, if need be. I also see this new role as very much temporary. 

Many talking heads and fans have latched on to Rob Brzezinski as a serious candidate for the Vikings permanent GM job. Mark Wilf perhaps pushed those thoughts when he said that Brzezinski would be considered. I don’t see it. If Brzezinski truly wanted the Vikings general manager job, we would’ve heard about it by now. He’s been with the team since 1999. He probably would’ve been considered when Rick Spielman got the job. He definitely would’ve been considered when Kwesi Adofo-Mensah got the job. I believe that Brzezinski knows his strengths and where he’s needed. His strengths are with the salary cap and he’s very much needed there. He’s been brilliant. I don’t see him as the Vikings next general manager. 

If Rob Brzezinski is #1 on the candidate list of talking heads and fans, current Denver Broncos general manager George Paton is #2. It’s a fairly lazy take as Paton left the Vikings to take the top personnel job with the Broncos. So, just because he has a past with the Vikings means that he’s returning despite being under contract with the Broncos. If current GMs are candidates, why not Howie Roseman or John Schneider or Eric DeCosta? The only way the Vikings can add Paton is by giving draft picks for him. There’s no way that’s happening.

Who are “legitimate” candidates to be the Vikings next general manager? I’m certain of one thing. Vikings next general manager will not be an “analytics guy.” The next Vikings general manager will come with a history, hopefully long history, of scouting and personnel experience. Here are some of my favorite potential candidates.

Chad Alexander - Chargers Assistant General Manager 

John McKay - Rams Assistant General Manager 

Mike Bradway - Chiefs Assistant General Manager 

Will McClay - Cowboys VP of Player Personnel 

George Kokinis - Ravens VP of Player Personnel 

Ed Dobbs - Colts Assistant General Manager 

Terrance Gray - Bills Assistant General Manager 

Andy Weidl - Steelers Assistant General Manager 

Ray Agnew - Lions Assistant General Manager 

The Athletic’s Alec Lewis directed me to several more intriguing candidates:

Ryan Cowden - Patriots VP of Player Personnel 

Jeff King - Bears Senior Director of Player Personnel

Reed Burckhardt - Broncos Assistant General Manager 

Trey Brown - Bengals Assistant General Manager 

Trent Kirchner - Seahawks VP of Player Personnel 

Matt Berry - Seahawks VP of Player Acquisition

VP of Player Acquisition! Come on! What kind of title is that?

Anyway, that’s 15 candidates. That feels like a lot. The list in front of the Wilfs is probably longer. If I have to narrow the 15 to five, my top five, right now, probably looks like this.

Chad Alexander

Ed Dobbs

Ryan Cowden

Trey Brown

Trent Kirchner

In the rivalry of scouting vs analytics, I’ve always been, and always be, with the scouting side. I appreciate the inclusion of analytics into the process but I’ll never understand “scouting” from a spreadsheet. I look forward to the Vikings return to a “scouting” GM. I narrowed the candidate list to the above five for their scouting experience, the drafting of the teams that employed them, and a general feel or hunch. 

I know that the right general manager for the Vikings is out there. I hope they find that general manager. 

Minnesota Vikings Coaches

The Minnesota Vikings biggest coaching question of this offseason was whether defensive coordinator Brian Flores would be back. His return felt very much up in the air for a few weeks. His contract with the Vikings expired. He interviewed for the head coach vacancies of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. He even interviewed for the defensive coordinator role with the Washington Commanders. It was a tense couple of weeks. Finally, he signed a new contract to remain in Minnesota. The contract reportedly makes him the highest paid assistant coach in the league. It’s very much deserved. He’s also very much deserving of a head coach opportunity. The stupidity of the rest of the league is the Vikings gain. Since December, five coaches have departed for opportunities/potential opportunities elsewhere. 

Safeties coach Michael Hutchings - left for Cal DC job

Assistant Head Coach Mike Pettine - retired

Offensive Line coach Chris Kuper - contract expired

Secondary/Pass Game Coordinator Daronte Jones - left for Washington Commanders DC job

Defensive Line coach Marcus Dixon - contract expired/hired as Dallas Cowboys DL coach

On Saturday, the Vikings announced the hiring of three coaches:

Frank Smith - Assistant Head Coach

Gerald Alexander - Secondary/Pass Game Coordinator

Ryan Nielsen - Defensive Line/Run Game Coordinator

The Vikings also announced the promotion of assistant offensive line coach Keith Carter to offensive line coach. 

Vikings-wise, Friday was a frustrating day. Saturday was a great day. I was thrilled with all three hires. My hope for the offensive line was a coach in the Kyle Shanahan/Mike McDaniel/Sean McVay/Matt LaFleur coaching pipeline. I’ve long envied the run games of those teams. The Vikings didn’t hire the offensive line coach from those systems. In Frank Smith, they hired Mike McDaniels offensive coordinator with the Miami Dolphins. That works. Smith has an offensive line coaching background and, most importantly, brings an innovative run scheme. Kevin O’Connell needs some of that in his Vikings offense. Smith was a dream addition that I wasn’t sure could be had. As a productive offensive coordinator for four years, he was beyond the level of an offensive line coach. He was sure to move on to another offensive coordinator job or even a head coach opportunity. He did interview for the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator job. The Vikings made their way around that little issue by hiring him as assistant head coach. Gerald Alexander has been a dream Vikings coach since his 2017-19 run as Cal’s secondary coach. He’s an outstanding coach and outstanding replacement for Daronte Jones. As for the defensive line, I was hoping Marcus Dixon would return. Absent that, the Vikings hired an experienced and effective coach in Ryan Nielsen. He earned league-wide attention for his work with the New Orleans Saints defensive line under Sean Payton. That work put him on the Vikings radar and he interviewed for the defensive coordinator job that went to Brian Flores. Now, he’s working with Flores. Frank Smith is a great addition to the Vikings offense. Gerald Alexander and Ryan Nielsen are great additions to the defense. 

The Vikings likely aren’t done adding to the coaching staff. Assistants are needed on the offensive line and in the secondary. Those are two of the largest position groups on the team. The staff could also be further raided by teams with new head coaches. For now, here is the current coaching staff of the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Kevin O’Connell

Assistant Head Coach/Outside Linebackers: Frank Smith

Offensive Coordinator: Wes Phillips

Defensive Coordinator: Brian Flores

Special Teams Coordinator: Matt Daniels

Offense:

Quarterbacks: Josh McCown

Assistant Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Quarterbacks: Jordan Traylor

Senior Offensive Assistant: Chris O’Hara

Running Backs/Run Game Coordinator: Curtis Modkins

Receivers: Keenan McCardell

Assistant Receivers: Tony Sorrentino

Tight Ends/Pass Game Coodinator: Brian Angelichio

Offensive Line: Keith Carter

Assistant Offensive Line: ?

Pass Game Specialist/Game Management Coordinator: Ryan Cordell

Quality Control: Derron Montgomery

Offensive Assistant: Ben Ellefson

Assistant to the Head Coach: Henry Schneider IV

Defense:

Defensive Line/Run Game Coordinator: Ryan Nielsen

Assistant Defensive Line: Imarjae Albury Sr.

Outside Linebackers: Thad Bogardus

Assistant Outside Linebackers: Patrick Hill

Inside Linebackers: Mike Siravo 

Defensive Backs/Pass Game Coordinator: Gerald Alexander

Defensive Backs Assistant: ?

Defensive Quality Control: Chenzo Funari

Defensive Assistant: Charlie Frye

Special Teams:

Assistant Special Teams: Dalmin Gibson

NFL Head Coach Churn Ends

It appears that the NFL’s Annual Head Coach Churn has come to an end. A week from the Super Bowl, the final two head coach vacancies were filled. The Las Vegas Raiders reportedly plan to hire Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak following his team’s Super Bowl obligations. The Arizona Cardinals announced the hiring of Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. So, the league has 10 new head coaches. Well, some are old coaches in new places. 

New York Giants: John Harbaugh

Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski

Miami Dolphins: Jeff Hafley

Tennessee Titans: Robert Saleh

Baltimore Ravens: Jesse Minter

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike McCarthy

Cleveland Browns: Todd Monken

Buffalo Bills: Joe Brady

Las Vegas Raiders: Klint Kubiak

Arizona Cardinals: Mike LaFleur

All but John Harbaugh, Kevin Stefanski, Robert Saleh, and Mike McCarthy are first-time NFL head coaches. Jeff Hafley had a four-year run as the head coach at Boston College. Todd Monken was the head coach at Southern Mississippi for a couple years. Jesse Minter, Joe Brady, Klint Kubiak, and Mike LaFleur will be running a team for the first time. 

It’s easy to single out Jesse Minter and Joe Brady as the coaches in the best situation to immediately succeed. Success in the NFL starts with the quarterback and the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills have an elite quarterback in Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, respectively. The Ravens are only two years removed from an AFC Championship appearance. The Bills are only a year removed from an AFC Championship appearance. Minter’s Ravens and Brady’s Bills will enter the 2026 season as serious AFC contenders.

Here’s a Flea Flicker ranking of the 10 head coach hires.

1.   Baltimore Ravens: Jesse Minter

2.   New York Giants: John Harbaugh

3.   Las Vegas Raiders: Klint Kubiak

4.   Tennessee Titans: Robert Saleh

5.   Miami Dolphins: Jeff Hafley

6.   Buffalo Bills: Joe Brady

7.   Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski

8.   Cleveland Browns: Todd Monken

9.   Arizona Cardinals: Mike LaFleur

10. Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike McCarthy

Robert Saleh selection of Brian Dabol as his offensive coordinator bumped him up a couple spots. Saleh and Dabol are an intriguing defense-offense pairing. 

On the diversity front, this was a disappointing coaching churn. Robert Saleh is the only minority of the 10 new head coaches. All 10 teams were idiots for not hiring Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. It’s even worse that only two teams even interviewed him. The snowy white complexion of the new head coaches shouldn’t be a surprise. The focus is so often on offensive coaches in these searches. There were zero black offensive coordinators in the league last year. The Kansas City Chiefs bringing back Eric Bieniemy gives the league one black offensive coordinator, so far, for the 2026 season. Black defensive coordinators Brian Flores, Vance Joseph, Anthony Weaver, and Ejiro Evero received token attention in this year’s head coach searches. While Evero was reportedly a finalist for the Las Vegas Raiders job, teams might’ve brought in those four coaches simply for Rooney Rule requirements. The continued shunning of Flores is a great thing for the Vikings but he deserves another head coach opportunity. The lack of diversity among the NFL’s 32 head coaches appears to be a problem without end. There are few black offensive coaches in the pipeline. Promising young coaches Nate Scheelhasse, Los Angeles Rams pass game coordinator, and Jerrod Johnson, Houston Texans quarterback coach, could change that narrative in the coming years. Scheelhasse received some head coach attention. Johnson received some offensive coordinator attention. The presence of only two promising black coaches near the top of the offensive coaching pipeline is ludicrous. It must be tough to enter a pipeline with few opportunities available at the top of it. 

Congratulations and best of luck to the 10 new head coaches. 

Minnesota Vikings Coach Additions

On Friday, the Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. It wasn’t a great day. Firing a major player in the team-building architecture isn’t a good thing. As far as the league’s news cycle is concerned, it’s tough to follow that. Well, the Vikings followed a difficult day with a great day. At least, I see it as a great day. 

Every offseason brings a coaching churn within each of the NFL’s 32 teams. It’s an overhaul for the team’s that are bringing in a new head coach. It’s mostly coaching staff tweaks for the rest of the teams. The Vikings will be looking for a new general manager. They are set at head coach with Kevin O’Connell. As far as his coaching staff is concerned, the first and biggest question of the offseason was whether defensive coordinator Brian Flores was coming back. He’s deserving of a head coach opportunity. Of the 10 head coach vacancies this offseason, only the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers even interviewed him. Both teams hired other coaches. There’s a lot of stupidity across the league. Thankfully, that stupidity brought Flores back to Minnesota with a new contract. His return meant that Vikings secondary coach/pass game coordinator Daronte Jones was departing. He’s deserving of a coordinator opportunity. He found that opportunity with the Washington Commanders. The Vikings had already lost safeties coach Michael Hutchings to a defensive coordinator opportunity with Cal. The Vikings offensive line coach of the past four seasons, Chris Kuper didn’t have his contract renewed. A decade of offensive line issues continued under Kuper’s four-year watch. As a result, his departure wasn’t a surprise. The departure of Marcus Dixon under similar circumstances (expiring contract) might’ve been a surprise. His two-year run as the defensive line coach saw considerable improvement from his players. I believe that he was a coach the Vikings would’ve liked to keep. It appears that he has other plans. 

So, the Vikings had to find replacements for Chris Kuper, Daronte Jones, and Marcus Dixon. Since I expected the need for an offensive line coach and a defensive backs coach, I had a wish list. 

Frank Smith - offensive line 

Gerald Alexander - defensive backs

For offensive line, I hoped for a coach from the trees of some of the innovative run game coaches in the league. Specifically, I hoed for a coach that’s worked with Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, Sean McVay, etc. Frank Smith has been Mike McDaniel’s offensive coordinator since 2022. Prior to being the Miami Dolphins head coach, McDaniel was the run game schemster of Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers. My biggest concern with the Vikings possibly hiring Smith was whether he’d “settle” for an offensive line coaching role. He’s more at the level of offensive coordinator or head coach. He interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator position that just went to Sean Mannion. Perhaps that missed opportunity opened an opportunity with the Vikings. I’ve been a big fan of Gerald Alexander since his three-year run (2017-19) as Cal’s secondary coach. That run in Berkeley ended when Brian Flores, as the head coach in Miami, hired him as the Dolphins secondary coach. My personal witness of his terrific work at Cal and Flores’ connection with him made Alexander an easy coach for me to target. Alexander is an excellent football coach. As for the defensive line coach, I simply hoped that Marcus Dixon would return. 

After a rough Friday, the Vikings announced some coaching hires on Saturday. It was a great Saturday.

Frank Smith - Assistant Head Coach

Gerald Alexander - Defensive Backs Coach/Pass Game Coordinator

Ryan Nielsen - Defensive Line coach/Run Game Coordinator

The Vikings also announced that assistant offensive line coach Keith Carter was promoted to offensive line coach. He’s been the offensive line coach of the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets. He has the experience and is deserving of this role. The best thing about the Vikings offensive coach changes is the addition of Frank Smith and his run game schemes. Kevin O’Connell is terrific with the pass game. He needed some help with the run game. Smith will provide that help. The Vikings offense got better with these coaching changes. Gerald Alexander is an outstanding addition to the defensive coaching staff. At the start of this offseason, I had two coaching wishes. Most importantly, I wanted Brian Flores to stay. He deserves a head coach opportunity. Selfishly, I want him as the Vikings defensive coordinator for eternity. Secondly, I wanted the Vikings to hire Gerald Alexander. The unfortunate thing about his addition is that it would probably have to come with the loss of Daronte Jones. It did. The surprise of yesterday’s coaching news was the hiring of Ryan Nielsen. Since I hoped that Marcus Dixon would return, I didn’t really think about potential defensive line coaches. I’m not sure that Viking could’ve done better than Ryan Nielsen. He interviewed for the Vikings defensive coordinator job in 2023. Flores got the job in Minnesota but Nielsen got the defensive coordinator job with the Atlanta Falcons. He has terrific experience and results as a defensive coach, and specifically defensive line coach. 

The Minnesota Vikings roster of coaches might seem complete but I’m not sure that it is. I expect them to add an assistant defensive backs coach/safeties coach. I also expect the addition of an assistant offensive line coach. 

After a rough Friday, Saturday was kinda nice. Viking-wise.