Vikings Offensive Coordinator Search

The Minnesota Vikings 2017 offensive coordinator was Pat Shurmur. He did such a fine job that he's now the head coach of the New York Giants. So the Vikings have to find a new offensive coordinator. Head coach Mike Zimmer has been inviting potential candidates to his Kentucky ranch for interviews. To date, the interviews reportedly number four.

Vikings quarterback coach Kevin Stefanski
Former Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell
Texans quarterback coach Sean Ryan
Saints assistant head coach/tight end coach Dan Campbell

Campbell will be the last to interview and he's scheduled to meet with Zimmer today. CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported over the weekend that the Vikings expect to make decision early this week. That would mean that the decision could come today or  possibly tomorrow and that those four are the candidates.

Stefanski has been with the Vikings since 2006 and is surprisingly the most tenured coach on the staff. He came in with Brad Childress and has survived two head coach changes. He's moved up through the Vikings offensive coaching ranks with stints coaching tight ends, running backs, and quarterbacks. He's earned a shot and he's ready. Rumor has it that he might move on to the Giants as Shurmur's OC if he doesn't get the Vikings job.

Bevell is the only one of the four candidates that has experience calling plays. He was the Vikings OC under Childress before he moved on to the Seahawks. It might a little bit of "been there, done that" but Bevell being the Vikings next OC doesn't really sit well with me.

Ryan is at a similar point in his coaching career as Stefanski even though he's been working at it eight years longer. He coached at the college level from 1998-2006. He coached receivers and quarterbacks with the Giants from 2007-15. He coached the receivers on the 2011 Super Bowl team. He coached the Texans receivers in 2016 and quarterbacks last year. Like Stefanski, he's earned a shot to run an offense.

Campbell played for the Cowboys while Zimmer was the defensive coordinator from 2003-05. While it might feel like he's more experienced than relative youngsters Stefanski and Ryan he really isn't. Campbell is actually the least experienced of the candidates. He's only been coaching since 2010. He spent some time as the Miami Dolphins interim head coach in 2015 so he's better known than the anonymous position coaches. He was considered for the Dolphins permanent head coaching job that went to Adam Gase in 2016.

My guess is that Stefanski gets the job. I think that he's ready to lead the offense and I really like that he's worked his way up with the Vikings. By all accounts he's established solid connections with the players that he's coached and that he's considered a rising offensive coach in league circles. No one knows how adept a coach will be at calling plays until he actually does it in game conditions. It's up to Zimmer to decide whether Stefanski is ready to make that leap.