Vikings Will Interview Josh McDaniels, Mike Singletary
By Dan Zinski
Leslie Frazier has designs on creating an all-star coaching staff in Minnesota. Reports today say the Vikings are set to interview a pair of potential new assistants who were both NFL head coaches in 2010, but lost their jobs after tumultuous tenures.
We heard yesterday from Judd Zulgad that Mike Singletary could be in the mix as linebackers coach under soon-to-be-named defensive coordinator Fred Pagac. Now we have confirmation that the Vikings will indeed interview the former 49ers coach for that position.
But the interviewing won’t end with Singletary. We now have word that the Vikings plan to demote Darrell Bevell to quarterbacks coach, assuming he is willing to accept the change in rank, and offer his former offensive coordinator position to someone else. The first someone on their list of candidates? Former Broncos coach and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Singletary and McDaniels are both coming off what can only be described as difficult seasons. Singletary’s Niners were expected to contend in the marshmallow-soft NFC West, but started off 0-5 and ended the season at 6-10 (still only one game back of division winner Seattle). Singletary’s in-your-face style seemed refreshing at first in San Francisco, but clearly grated on his players over time.
Then there’s McDaniels, who came out of the gate hot two years ago as a rookie head coach only to see his team fade down the stretch and finish out of the playoffs. Hopes were high for a Broncos resurgence in 2010 but, like the Niners, they were never able to put anything together. McDaniels was fired with the Broncos at 3-9 and well out of it in the unexpectedly competitive AFC West. Various bad personnel moves helped speed McDaniels’ demise in Denver.
Should the Vikings manage to hire both Singletary and McDaniels, they would certainly have one of the most star-studded staffs in all of football. They would also have a pretty volatile mix of personalities all trying to work together under a head coach who, in his time in the league, has developed a reputation for knowing how to manage people.
Follow FanSided on Facebook. Follow The Viking Age on Twitter.
Site5 and Fansided Holiday Season Charity Drive: Give to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.