Terrence Newman may not return to Vikings coaching staff in 2019
By Chris Schad
The former Minnesota Vikings cornerback turned coach may be contemplating his future with the team according to a report.
A lot of things went wrong for the Minnesota Vikings last year, but one of the best developments came when Terence Newman retired and became part of the team’s coaching staff. Under his watch, several young cornerbacks either improved (Mackensie Alexander) or caught on quickly (Mike Hughes, Holton Hill) to Mike Zimmer’s defensive scheme.
The overall effect of Newman’s addition to the staff helped the Vikings rank third in passing defense last season despite lost years from starters Xavier Rhodes and Andrew Sendejo. Despite the successful beginning to Newman’s coaching career, a report from KSTP-TV’s Darren Wolfson says that it could be a short one as the 42-year old is contemplating whether to come back.
Here is the post from Wolfson from Twitter sharing the news:
Terence Newman has a chance to return to the #Vikings coaching staff, but may choose to walk away, I hear -- coaching is a grind. His exact choice will become more clear as we get into February. Good catch by @Proudhorn to note that Newman is no longer listed on the team website.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) January 30, 2019
Losing Newman on the staff would be another blow to a coaching staff that has been a revolving door this offseason. Although the Vikings retained offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, the team also brought in a new offensive consultant (Gary Kubiak) and quarterback coach (Klint Kubiak).
The shuffle doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon as Mike Zimmer also needs to hire (or possibly confirm) the hiring of a new special teams coach and offensive line coach for the 2019 NFL season in the coming weeks.
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If Terence Newman decides that the grind of coaching is too much for him, it will be another change in a coaching staff that will look drastically different than it did a year ago. Hopefully, that potential change will not hinder the development curve of the younger members of the Vikings’ secondary.