Vikings Coaches Meet The Media

The Minnesota Vikings have made some considerable "tweaks" to the the coaching staff since the end of a disappointing 2018 season. Interim offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski had the "interim" tag dropped from his job title. The only thing that might have prevented that from happening was if he had been named the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. He wasn't and the Vikings offense is now his. He's going to have a lot of help. The most considerable of the considerable coaching "tweaks" was the hiring of former Houston Texans and Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak as Assistant head coach/offensive adviser. Kubiak is bringing some coaches with him. Son, Klint Kubiak will coach the quarterbacks. Rick Dennison will coordinate the run game and coach the offensive line. Brian Pariani will coach the tight ends. Dennison and Pariani have coached with Kubiak at several NFL stops. The younger Kubiak has known the older Kubiak his entire life. The new Vikings coaches have coached for a long time with success. They've won Super Bowls together. There's no success that matters more in the NFL. They will be a tremendous resource for an offensive coordinator that has called plays for three games. They have specialized in offensive schemes (play action and zone blocking) in which Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has thrived in the past. On paper, in February, it looks like an excellent coaching marriage. The new offensive coaches met the Minnesota media for the first time yesterday. As did new special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf. Maalouf's addition has gotten a little lost in the headline-inducing offensive coaching additions. Special teams is often lost in the shuffle despite it's importance in winning football games.

Those were the considerable Vikings coaching staff "tweaks." They are actually much more than "tweaks." Moving assistant quarterbacks coach Drew Petzing to receivers coach is a "tweak." Hiring Christian Jones and A.C. Patterson as offensive quality control coaches are "tweaks." Adding the Kubiak gang is a significant addition to the Vikings coaching staff. Hopefully, Stefanski and his new and old friends can light a fire under an offense filled with talented players.

Unless another coaching "tweak" comes along, here's the 2019 Minnesota Vikings coaches:

Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Mike Zimmer

Coordinators
Offensive Coordinator: Kevin Stefanski
Defensive Coordinator: George Edwards
Special Teams Coordinator: Marwan Maalouf

Assistants
Assistant head coach/offensive adviser: Gary Kubiak
Quarterbacks: Klint Kubiak
Running Backs: Kennedy Polamalu
Receivers: Drew Petzing
Tight Ends: Brian Pariani
Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator: Rick Dennison
Assistant Offensive Line: Andrew Janocko
Offensive Quality Control: Christian Jones
Offensive Quality Control: A. C. Patterson
Defensive Line: Andre Patterson
Assistant Defensive Line: Robert Rodriguez
Linebackers: Adam Zimmer
Defensive Backs: Jerry Gray
Assistant Defensive Backs: Jeff Howard
Defensive Quality Control: Nick Rallis
Assistant Special Teams: Ryan Ficken
Head Strength and Conditioning: Mark Uyeyama
Assistant Strength and Conditioning: Chaz Mahle

Assistant Strength and Conditioning: Derik Keyes

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One curiosity of the Vikings coaching staff is the three father-son combos that are now on it:

Mike and Adam Zimmer
Gary and Klint Kubiak
Andre and A.C. Patterson