5 essential traits the new Vikings head coach needs to have
By Nik Edlund
Create an Identity
One major problem with the 2021 Vikings was that they had no identity. This was a team that was wildly inconsistent, one-week going toe to toe with the best in the league, and then the following week playing down to bottom-feeding clubs like the Detroit Lions. As a complete team, they lacked a true identity but also lacked that on both sides of the ball.
There have been years in the past where Minnesota lived and died by the run. Whether it was Adrian Peterson or Dalvin Cook running the ball, that was the heart of the offense and the passing attack was built off having a successful running game.
That seemed to change towards the end of the last year as Kirk Cousins began airing it out to his weapons Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. This year was a total mixed bag. In some games, the run game was going, and in others, it was basically non-existent.
There were games where the Vikings attacked down the field with Jefferson and others where they tucked up their man parts, and opted to dink and dunk instead.
That could be the result of a rookie offensive coordinator but the head coach should’ve stepped in and made sure the ball would be pounded or the air attack would be first and foremost.
Defensively, Minnesota has had years where they were fierce against the run, and they could also create pressure to force quarterbacks into bad decisions. This year that didn’t happen.
They couldn’t stop anyone on the ground, and while they did have a high number of sacks, offenses didn’t really struggle to light up the scoreboard against this defense.
The new head coach needs to bring in a philosophy and stick with it. It doesn’t matter if the Vikings become a run/pass option type of attack, an old school wear the defense down with a powerful ground game type, or go four wide and attack through the air.
The new man in charge needs to establish who they are going to be on both sides of the ball, so teams will know and fear what the 2022 Minnesota Vikings bring to the table.