The Minnesota Vikings will begin their search for an offensive line coach with former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin.
One of the biggest deficiencies for the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 was their offensive line. With Kirk Cousins being pressured on 38.9 percent of his drop backs this season, there has been a similar amount of pressure applied to Vikings general manager Rick Spielman to add some talent to the unit this offseason.
While adding talent may be one thing, Minnesota also needs to find an offensive line coach after Clancy Barone and Andrew Janacko split the duties in wake of the death of Tony Sparano last August.
With Kevin Stefanski being hired as the full-time offensive coordinator on Wednesday, the focus has shifted to finding someone to fill this void.
According to the NFL insider Bob McGinn, the first name to pop up in the Vikings’ search for a new offensive line coach is former Miami Dolphins head coach and Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin.
Philbin has played a strong role with the Packers over the years as both as an offensive coordinator and interim head coach. While he will likely not be retained with Matt LeFleur taking over, there is some value to Philbin potentially coming to Minnesota.
With the Vikings likely applying a run-heavy approach under Stefanski, Philbin’s work resulted in the seventh-most adjusted line yards (4.71) per rushing play in 2018 according to Football Outsiders.
While Green Bay’s pass protection left something to be desired this season with a 7.9 percent adjusted sack rate (21st in NFL), the focus on the ground game is something that would make this hire a logical one.
Philbin also has a history of working with offensive lines at Iowa (1999-2002), Indianapolis (2016-17) and Green Bay (2003-06). Will he be the guy Minnesota selects to lead their offensive linemen for next season?