Pat Flaherty to interview for Vikings O-line coach job (Report)

Pat Flaherty will reportedly interview for the offensive line coach job vacated by Jeff Davidson after the Vikings declined to renew his contract.

The Vikings reportedly will begin the process of finding out-going offensive line coach Jeff Davidson’s successor by speaking with long-time Giants O-line coach Pat Flaherty (via Fox Sports).

Flaherty joined the Giants as offensive line coach in 2004 when Tom Coughlin was hired. Coughlin resigned on January 4 after winning two Super Bowls in New York.

During Flaherty’s time, the Giants have consistently been one of the NFL’s better offensive teams,  finishing in the top ten in total offense seven times from 2004-2015.

Flaherty was given special praise this past season for patching together a solid line despite not having a ton of talent. Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis spoke to Flaherty’s good work with the Giants’ cobbled-together line this past season (via The Morning Call):

"“These guys are playing really well together,” he said. “They’re protecting [quarterback] Eli [Manning] as well as they’ve done. And their run game is strong. I mean, they can push you and move people around in the run game.“So I think the fact that they’re really jelling, coach Flaherty, Flatts, has done a great job coaching that group up, and it’s five guys playing as one. … This O-line is kind of on the same page, and that makes it harder to get to Eli.”"

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The Vikings had to shuffle their offensive line this year for various reasons but never seemed to truly come together as a unit. They surrendered 2.8 sacks-per-game this  year, while the Giants with Flaherty surrendered just 1.7.

Reports have the Vikings also expressing interest in former Dolphins interim head coach Dan Campbell. He was a tight ends coach in Miami but could be seen as a candidate to coach offensive line.