The Viking Age » fred pagac

Fred Pagac Is No Longer the Vikings’ Defensive Coordinator

Dan Zinski — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:21:22 +0000

Fred Pagac is no longer dangling like a lonely Christmas ornament. On Friday the Vikings finally pulled the trigger on the defensive coordinator, ending weeks of non-suspense. Pagac was offered the chance to stay on as linebackers coach but it’s not yet known if he’ll accept. Current LB coach Mike Singletary is believed to be a candidate to take over for Pagac as DC.

Pagac’s legacy as defensive coordinator is one of failure and slow disintegration. This wasn’t entirely Pagac’s fault. A lot of bad crap happened to the defense in 2011, including a ton of injuries, a bunch of aging players going over the cliff, Chris Cook getting himself unofficially suspended with pay after a domestic assault and just overall undisciplined play. Pagac himself came under fire after it was revealed that on more than one occasion his players ignored his instructions, instead calling their own plays in the huddle. Leslie Frazier was on at least two occasions forced to take over play-calling duties from Pagac.

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Jared Allen Blasts Coaching Staff After Humiliating Loss

Dan Zinski — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:53:59 +0000

Jared Allen is unhappy with the way things went down against the Saints. I don’t just mean the final score or the stat sheet, I mean the way he was handled by the coaches and just the overall play calling approach. Allen was pulled late in the blow out after failing to record a sack (despite getting after Drew Brees pretty good at times), and after the game he sounded off about the decision.

“I was pissed that they wouldn’t let me out there to finish the game off,” Allen said. “I don’t like that they tried to pull me at the end.” Allen added, ”What are we resting me for, the playoffs? That’s not my decision. I guess they want the young guys to play. I don’t know.”

That wasn’t even Allen’s strongest remark. His most severe criticism was leveled at the play calling which could kindly be described as overly cautious. (more…)

The Vikings Defense Is a Worse Mess Than We Thought

Dan Zinski — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:08:09 +0000

Tom Pelissero has blown the lid off the Vikings’ disaster of a defense. The big bombshell in Pelissero’s piece is the revelation that early in the year players routinely ignored Fred Pagac’s calls, instead shouting out their own plays. The major issue according to Pelissero was “the timing and frequency of blitzes and man-coverage” calls. Does that mean the players thought they were blitzing too much or not enough? Whatever the case, it’s obvious the players had no faith in Pagac from the beginning. This could help explain why the Vikings kept blowing leads in the second half. It certainly explains why, in the Oakland and Atlanta games, Leslie Frazier took over playcalling duties himself.

Two things are certain in the wake of these revelations about Pagac: 1) Pagac has to go (we already knew this), and; 2) The Vikings need to hire a general manager. Obviously the Vikings require someone above the head coach to exert some authority in situations like this, and straighten out players who are being blatantly insubordinate. Frazier may be too buddy-buddy with his players to be that voice of authority, and Rick Spielman is just a personnel guy. The 2011 mess has proven the need for a single Grand Poobah overseeing the entire operation and occasionally bringing the hammer down. I hope Zygi Wilf has gotten this message by now. And if not? Maybe we’d be better off if he sold the team. (more…)