Thanks to the success of the the team’s offense in 2017, the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator is drawing interest from multiple NFL teams as a potential head coach.
Despite being hired as the team’s tight ends coach in 2016, the assumption regarding Pat Shurmur’s role with the Minnesota Vikings would include having some input on the team’s offense. Well, after Norv Turner resigned as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator just seven games into the 2016 season, Shurmur’s role with the offense saw a significant increase as he was named the team’s interim offensive coordinator for the remainder of the year.
After having the interim tag removed from his position during the 2017 offseason, Shurmur had plenty of time to implement a scheme that he felt would work best for Minnesota’s offense during the upcoming year. In his first full season as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator in 2017, Shurmur’s play-calls helped turn the team’s offense into one of the most well-run units in the NFL.
With his success in transforming Minnesota’s offense this year, a number of teams around the league are beginning to take interest in Shurmur possibly becoming their next head coach. In fact, two teams have already been informed by the Vikings that Shurmur will be available to meet for an interview some time in the near future.
According to the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson, both the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions have had their requests granted to interview Minnesota’s current offensive coordinator for their vacant head coaching positions. The Cardinals job opened up after Bruce Arians announced his retirement on Monday while the Lions opted to fire Jim Caldwell after leading the team to a winning record in three of his four seasons in Detroit.
Lions, Cardinals have permission to interview Pat Shurmur for head position. Mike Zimmer said: "If he gets requested to interview, I'll let him interview. ... I can give him certain days (teams) can come and do that ... You can request they come here... so that's what we'll do"
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) January 1, 2018
The Lions and Cardinals will likely not be the only teams interested in interviewing Shurmur during the next few weeks. Other teams that are currently in need of a new head coach after Monday includes the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, and New York Giants.
Next: Vikings' ups and downs from Week 17 win
Will talking with other teams this week be a distraction for Shurmur and the Vikings as they prepare for their divisional playoff matchup? Probably not, but it is looking like Minnesota is likely going to need to hire a new offensive coordinator after their current season comes to an end.