Vikings Coaching Changes

The Minnesota Vikings were forced to make some coaching changes for the worst possible reason. Offensive line coach Tony Sparano is no longer with us. As long as a player coached by Sparano plays and a coach that coached with him coaches, he will be a part of the game. Unfortunately, the Vikings had to adjust to his physical absence. Head coach Mike Zimmer addressed those adjustments yesterday and continuity held.

Zimmer announced that the team has made Clancy Barone and Andrew Janocko co-offensive line coaches. Barone was coaching tight ends and Janocko was assisting Sparano. Viewing from my comfy chair it felt like the logical decision. It keeps the voices, routines, techniques, and terminology the same. It maintains continuity. Barone has been coaching for about 30 years with about half of those years coming in the NFL. He's coached the offensive line, tight ends, and been an offensive coordinator during his career. His most recent offensive line coaching was that of the Super Bowl-winning Denver Broncos. Janocko has been with the Vikings since 2015 and this is his second season with the offensive line. Offensive assistant coach Todd Downing will step in for Barone as the tight ends coach. Downing was hired in February as a senior offensive assistant. He was a promising coach, despite a rocky 2017 season in Oakland, without a job and the Vikings created one for him. He's been moving up and around the NFL since 2001. The first four of those years were in Minnesota. Having an extra offensive coach on hand was fortuitous when tragedy hit and they needed one. Downing hasn't coached tight ends but the Vikings have a couple coaches on staff that have, Barone and quarterback coach Kevin Stafanski. The coaches will lean on each other to get through this.

During the past week there was speculation that the Vikings might look outside the organization for a new offensive line coach. Former Vikings offensive line and head coach Mike Tice was mentioned as a possibility. There were reports that Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and former Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians had contacted the Vikings to recommend Harold Goodwin. Who knows if the Vikings decision-makers considered those possibilities? I don't. I do know that looking outside the organization didn't feel right. The Vikings have stressed a family atmosphere in recent years. At this late date in the process, the eve of training camp, looking anywhere but within simply felt wrong.