As I write this
Sheldon Richardson Jersey , the Vikings most important coaching need has not been addressed yet - Offensive Line Coach.Currently, the Vikings have co-offensive line coaches Andrew Janocko and Clancy Barone, who were given these positions after the death of Tony Sparano, who had been offensive line coach for a couple years.Janocko had limited experience as an offensive line assistant before being elevated to co-offensive line coach (more or less by default, given the timing of Sparano’s death) while Clancy Barone was moved from TE coach.Barone has coached offensive line - including under Gary Kubiak - but without much success.Joe PhilbinIt appears that the Vikings are looking for a new offensive line coach, as they began the process by interviewing Joe Philbin, formerly interim HC and OC with the Packers, and who had coached offensive line earlier on in his career with some success.But there hasn’t been much from the Vikings organization about Philbin since that interview, and Philbin has interviewed with other teams for head coaching jobs, so it doesn’t seem likely that Philbin will be hired as offensive line coach for the Vikings.Rick DennisonBut with the news of the hiring of the Gary Kubiak Package to fill the roles of offensive advisor, QB coach, and TE coach, there has been speculation that Rick Dennison, who has also coached together with Kubiak in Houston and Denver, that Dennison will also come to the Vikings to be offensive line coach - a position he holds now with the Jets.He hadn’t coached offensive line for about 10 years prior to taking the Jets job.Dennison had been an offensive line coach back in 2001-2005 and 2009 with Denver.In any case, Dennison has little to no track record in improving offensive linemen, in part because he’s only coached them for two single-seasons over the past 13 years.Given that, there isn’t much to suggest that Dennison will turn things around for the Vikings offensive line if he was hired to do so as offensive line coach. The Jets offensive line (where Dennison coached this season) was ranked 25th by PFF.There has been no confirmation that Dennison is leaving the Jets, nor is it clear if he remains under-contract with the Jets, which could potentially prevent his coming to Minnesota as part of the Kubiak Package.Dennison has only been with the Jets for a year, and presumably he signed a contract longer than one year, but you never know.So
Authentic Matt Wile Jersey , until we hear otherwise, the Vikings may be continuing to search for an offensive line coach.And there are a couple other possibilities worth strong consideration by Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman.Dave DeGuglielmoAs offensive line coach for the Colts this past season, DeGuglielmo took a struggling offensive line in Indy and with the addition of top draft pick Quenton Nelson, turned them into the 3rd best offensive line in the NFL, according to PFF.Last season, in 2017, the Colts’ offensive line was ranked 25th.He is now available, as Colts head coach Frank Reich fired him to install his own guy at that position.DeGuglielmo employed a variety of blocking schemes and concepts, according to each game plan, that helped the Colts offensive line both protect Andrew Luck and develop a solid ground game.Here is a good explanation of how this was done.Clearly DeGuglielmo did a good job adapting his offensive linemen to each game plan, which varied in style and concepts, in support of the overall offensive game plan objectives.The Colts backfield was led by Marlon Mack, a 4th round pick in 2017.DeGuglielmo could be a guy that with some influx of talent via the draft and/or free agency, could turn around the Vikings 29th ranked offensive line as well.Bill CallahanAnother top offensive line coach that may be available to the Vikings is the Redskins offensive line coach Bill Callahan. I’ve mentioned him before as a possible offensive coordinator, but his greatest success has been as an offensive line coach.While he has had great success improving offensive lines wherever he’s been, from Wisconsin to Washington, his greatest success may have been in Dallas coaching the Cowboys offensive line into the best unit in the league during his tenure with the Cowboys from 2012-2014.Although he is one of the better offensive line coaches in the NFL, he has one year left on his contract with the Redskins. But the rumor is he is looking to leave the Redskins, and could part ways with the organization one way or another.He would be another ‘good get’ for the Vikings if they are serious about fixing their Achilles heel which has been holding them back as much as anything from reaching their goal of bring home a Lombardi trophy.Joe RudolphAnother possibility for offensive line coach from the college ranks is Joe Rudolph, who is currently the Associate head coach / offensive coordinator / offensive line coach for the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin has produced a number of NFL linemen over the years, and Rudolph coached Ryan Ryamczyk, who has become a top tackle with the Saints
Youth Brett Jones Jersey , and a few top offensive linemen coming out in this year’s draft - Michael Deiter, Beau Benzschawel, and David Edwards.Wisconsin has one of the best offensive lines under Rudolph’s coaching.Rudolph has interviewed for a head coaching job at Temple recently, and it’s unclear if he’d be willing to make the jump to the NFL as an offensive line coach, or prefers to stay in the college ranks. But if he’s willing to move up to the NFL, he could do a lot to help the Vikings offensive line improve as well.Time will tell which way the Vikings go in filling the most crucial position coach spot on the team, but there are some very capable candidates out there if Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman are willing to pursue them. On Sunday afternoon at Ford Field, the action got started with the Minnesota Vikings winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, meaning that the Detroit Lions would be getting the football to start things off. Dan Bailey put his foot to the ball and it flew through the end zone for a touchback, giving Matthew Stafford and the Detroit offense the ball at their own 25 to start things off. LeGarrette Blount started things off with a four-yard run for the home team, and Zach Zenner followed it up with a nice gain to set up a 3rd-and-1. Zenner then patiently waited for a hole to open up and blew through it for a big gain of 29 yards, going all the way down to the Minnesota 37.Matthew Stafford then fired incomplete for Kenny Golladay, and Anthony Barr dropped Blount for a loss of three to make it third-and-long. A short screen to Theo Riddick was dropped for a loss by Eric Wilson, and that brought Sam Martin in to punt it away. Martin got an excellent punt away, and outstanding coverage by the Lions’ special teams downed the ball at the Minnesota 2-yard line.Kirk Cousins led the Vikings offense onto the field deep in their own territory, and a false start on Tom Compton got things started. (Not that they had that far to be pushed back.) Cousins started with a sneak to try to give the offense a bit more room, but only got a yard out of it. C.J. Ham then gave it a try, but only managed another yard to make it 3rd-and-9. Cousins threw short for Stefon Diggs on third down, and the Vikings wound up with a three-and-out. Matt Wile came in to punt the ball away, and the ball was nearly given away by Lions’ returner Jamal Agnew, but he recovered the ball at the Detroit 43-yard line.Stafford and company got the drive started with a pass to Golladay for a gain of 21 yards, and the Lions were right back into Minnesota territory at the 36. Blount then carried for a gain of five
http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-tom-compton-jersey ;, and Zenner was stopped for a short gain to bring up another third down for the home team. Danielle Hunter then took down Theo Riddick for no gain, and the Lions brought on Matt Prater to attempt a 47-yard field goal. Prater, as he does, split the uprights, and the Lions took an early 3-0 lead.Martin’s kickoff went through the end zone for a touchback, giving the Vikings the ball at their own 25. The drive started with Dalvin Cook’s first carry of the afternoon, and he picked up four yards. Cousins then fired for Diggs again, but it went off his hands for an incompletion to bring up 3rd-and-6. The Vikings went with a draw to Cook. . .strangely enough. . .and he was stopped well short of the line to gain for another three-and-out. Wile came in to punt again, and Agnew returned the punt to his own 32-yard line.Blount started the drive with a carry for four yards, and Stafford then completed a pass to Riddick for a first down. Stafford then threw incomplete for Blount, and Zenner was then stopped for a short gain to bring up 3rd-and-8. Stafford then found Golladay for a first down, and then completed a pass to Levine Toilolo to move the sticks again to the Minnesota 30.Harrison Smith dropped Blount for a loss on the ensuing first down, and Stafford threw incomplete for Blount on a screen. On 3rd-and-13, Mackensie Alexander dropped Riddick for another loss of yards, and the Lions called on Martin to punt it away again. This one took a Minnesota bounce and rolled to the Vikings’ 13-yard line.The drive started with a short pass to Latavius Murray for two yards, and Cook was stopped for no gain to bring up another third-and-long for the Minnesota offense. Cousins was then sacked by Nevin Lawson for a loss of six and a third consecutive three-and-out. The quarter ended before the Matt Wile punt.As we move to the second quarter, the Vikings appear to be sleepwalking, as they trail the Detroit Lions by a score of 3-0. Are they eventually going to wake up here?
As I write this Sheldon Richardson Jersey , the Vikings most important coaching need has not been addressed yet - Offensive Line Coach.Currently, the Vikings have co-offensive line coaches Andrew Janocko and Clancy Barone, who were given these positions after the death of Tony Sparano, who had been offensive line coach for a couple years.Janocko had limited experience as an offensive line assistant before being elevated to co-offensive line coach (more or less by default, given the timing of Sparano’s death) while Clancy Barone was moved from TE coach.Barone has coached offensive line - including under Gary Kubiak - but without much success.Joe PhilbinIt appears that the Vikings are looking for a new offensive line coach, as they began the process by interviewing Joe Philbin, formerly interim HC and OC with the Packers, and who had coached offensive line earlier on in his career with some success.But there hasn’t been much from the Vikings organization about Philbin since that interview, and Philbin has interviewed with other teams for head coaching jobs, so it doesn’t seem likely that Philbin will be hired as offensive line coach for the Vikings.Rick DennisonBut with the news of the hiring of the Gary Kubiak Package to fill the roles of offensive advisor, QB coach, and TE coach, there has been speculation that Rick Dennison, who has also coached together with Kubiak in Houston and Denver, that Dennison will also come to the Vikings to be offensive line coach - a position he holds now with the Jets.He hadn’t coached offensive line for about 10 years prior to taking the Jets job.Dennison had been an offensive line coach back in 2001-2005 and 2009 with Denver.In any case, Dennison has little to no track record in improving offensive linemen, in part because he’s only coached them for two single-seasons over the past 13 years.Given that, there isn’t much to suggest that Dennison will turn things around for the Vikings offensive line if he was hired to do so as offensive line coach. The Jets offensive line (where Dennison coached this season) was ranked 25th by PFF.There has been no confirmation that Dennison is leaving the Jets, nor is it clear if he remains under-contract with the Jets, which could potentially prevent his coming to Minnesota as part of the Kubiak Package.Dennison has only been with the Jets for a year, and presumably he signed a contract longer than one year, but you never know.So Authentic Matt Wile Jersey , until we hear otherwise, the Vikings may be continuing to search for an offensive line coach.And there are a couple other possibilities worth strong consideration by Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman.Dave DeGuglielmoAs offensive line coach for the Colts this past season, DeGuglielmo took a struggling offensive line in Indy and with the addition of top draft pick Quenton Nelson, turned them into the 3rd best offensive line in the NFL, according to PFF.Last season, in 2017, the Colts’ offensive line was ranked 25th.He is now available, as Colts head coach Frank Reich fired him to install his own guy at that position.DeGuglielmo employed a variety of blocking schemes and concepts, according to each game plan, that helped the Colts offensive line both protect Andrew Luck and develop a solid ground game.Here is a good explanation of how this was done.Clearly DeGuglielmo did a good job adapting his offensive linemen to each game plan, which varied in style and concepts, in support of the overall offensive game plan objectives.The Colts backfield was led by Marlon Mack, a 4th round pick in 2017.DeGuglielmo could be a guy that with some influx of talent via the draft and/or free agency, could turn around the Vikings 29th ranked offensive line as well.Bill CallahanAnother top offensive line coach that may be available to the Vikings is the Redskins offensive line coach Bill Callahan. I’ve mentioned him before as a possible offensive coordinator, but his greatest success has been as an offensive line coach.While he has had great success improving offensive lines wherever he’s been, from Wisconsin to Washington, his greatest success may have been in Dallas coaching the Cowboys offensive line into the best unit in the league during his tenure with the Cowboys from 2012-2014.Although he is one of the better offensive line coaches in the NFL, he has one year left on his contract with the Redskins. But the rumor is he is looking to leave the Redskins, and could part ways with the organization one way or another.He would be another ‘good get’ for the Vikings if they are serious about fixing their Achilles heel which has been holding them back as much as anything from reaching their goal of bring home a Lombardi trophy.Joe RudolphAnother possibility for offensive line coach from the college ranks is Joe Rudolph, who is currently the Associate head coach / offensive coordinator / offensive line coach for the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin has produced a number of NFL linemen over the years, and Rudolph coached Ryan Ryamczyk, who has become a top tackle with the Saints Youth Brett Jones Jersey , and a few top offensive linemen coming out in this year’s draft - Michael Deiter, Beau Benzschawel, and David Edwards.Wisconsin has one of the best offensive lines under Rudolph’s coaching.Rudolph has interviewed for a head coaching job at Temple recently, and it’s unclear if he’d be willing to make the jump to the NFL as an offensive line coach, or prefers to stay in the college ranks. But if he’s willing to move up to the NFL, he could do a lot to help the Vikings offensive line improve as well.Time will tell which way the Vikings go in filling the most crucial position coach spot on the team, but there are some very capable candidates out there if Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman are willing to pursue them. On Sunday afternoon at Ford Field, the action got started with the Minnesota Vikings winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, meaning that the Detroit Lions would be getting the football to start things off. Dan Bailey put his foot to the ball and it flew through the end zone for a touchback, giving Matthew Stafford and the Detroit offense the ball at their own 25 to start things off. LeGarrette Blount started things off with a four-yard run for the home team, and Zach Zenner followed it up with a nice gain to set up a 3rd-and-1. Zenner then patiently waited for a hole to open up and blew through it for a big gain of 29 yards, going all the way down to the Minnesota 37.Matthew Stafford then fired incomplete for Kenny Golladay, and Anthony Barr dropped Blount for a loss of three to make it third-and-long. A short screen to Theo Riddick was dropped for a loss by Eric Wilson, and that brought Sam Martin in to punt it away. Martin got an excellent punt away, and outstanding coverage by the Lions’ special teams downed the ball at the Minnesota 2-yard line.Kirk Cousins led the Vikings offense onto the field deep in their own territory, and a false start on Tom Compton got things started. (Not that they had that far to be pushed back.) Cousins started with a sneak to try to give the offense a bit more room, but only got a yard out of it. C.J. Ham then gave it a try, but only managed another yard to make it 3rd-and-9. Cousins threw short for Stefon Diggs on third down, and the Vikings wound up with a three-and-out. Matt Wile came in to punt the ball away, and the ball was nearly given away by Lions’ returner Jamal Agnew, but he recovered the ball at the Detroit 43-yard line.Stafford and company got the drive started with a pass to Golladay for a gain of 21 yards, and the Lions were right back into Minnesota territory at the 36. Blount then carried for a gain of five http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-tom-compton-jersey ;, and Zenner was stopped for a short gain to bring up another third down for the home team. Danielle Hunter then took down Theo Riddick for no gain, and the Lions brought on Matt Prater to attempt a 47-yard field goal. Prater, as he does, split the uprights, and the Lions took an early 3-0 lead.Martin’s kickoff went through the end zone for a touchback, giving the Vikings the ball at their own 25. The drive started with Dalvin Cook’s first carry of the afternoon, and he picked up four yards. Cousins then fired for Diggs again, but it went off his hands for an incompletion to bring up 3rd-and-6. The Vikings went with a draw to Cook. . .strangely enough. . .and he was stopped well short of the line to gain for another three-and-out. Wile came in to punt again, and Agnew returned the punt to his own 32-yard line.Blount started the drive with a carry for four yards, and Stafford then completed a pass to Riddick for a first down. Stafford then threw incomplete for Blount, and Zenner was then stopped for a short gain to bring up 3rd-and-8. Stafford then found Golladay for a first down, and then completed a pass to Levine Toilolo to move the sticks again to the Minnesota 30.Harrison Smith dropped Blount for a loss on the ensuing first down, and Stafford threw incomplete for Blount on a screen. On 3rd-and-13, Mackensie Alexander dropped Riddick for another loss of yards, and the Lions called on Martin to punt it away again. This one took a Minnesota bounce and rolled to the Vikings’ 13-yard line.The drive started with a short pass to Latavius Murray for two yards, and Cook was stopped for no gain to bring up another third-and-long for the Minnesota offense. Cousins was then sacked by Nevin Lawson for a loss of six and a third consecutive three-and-out. The quarter ended before the Matt Wile punt.As we move to the second quarter, the Vikings appear to be sleepwalking, as they trail the Detroit Lions by a score of 3-0. Are they eventually going to wake up here?