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