Former Vikings offensive coordinator to return to Minnesota in 2022?

Former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo has worked in the past with the team’s newest head coach, Kevin O’Connell.

Now that the Minnesota Vikings have reportedly selected Kevin O’Connell to be their new head coach, the attention will move on to who he will pick to be on the team’s coaching staff. Former Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo is someone that has already been mentioned as a possibility for O’Connell’s staff in Minnesota based on a connection they formed in the past when they were both with the Cleveland Browns.

In 2015, the Browns were in need of a new offensive coordinator after Kyle Shanahan left to take the same role with the Atlanta Falcons. So Cleveland brought in DeFilippo to take over the offense and O’Connell was added to the staff as well as the team’s quarterbacks coach.

Fast forward to the current offseason and The Browns Wire’s Jared Mueller believes DeFilippo returning to the Vikings as part of O’Connell’s coaching staff is “possible.”

Is John DeFilippo returning to the Minnesota Vikings a realistic possibility?

It’s easy to just make a connection between O’Connell and DeFilippo, but what are the chances of them actually reuniting in Minnesota this year?

Considering DeFillipo currently doesn’t have a job with an NFL team and the Vikings have already seen their offensive coordinator (Klint Kubiak) and quarterbacks coach (Andrew Janocko) take positions with other organizations, the chances of DeFilippo re-joining Minnesota’s staff probably aren’t as low as some might believe.

Since O’Connell is only 36-years-old and he’s never been a head coach in the NFL before, he will likely want to add a bunch of coaches to his staff that have a significant amount of pro experience. DeFilippo would fit this criteria, as he’s been an assistant coach in the NFL for a total of 15 years.

If O’Connell were to add DeFilippo to his staff, what role would the former Vikings offensive coordinator have?

It’s believable that he could return to his old role with Minnesota or become their new quarterbacks coach. Would O’Connell give DeFilippo play-calling duties as well?

Some Vikings fans might scoff at the idea of DeFilippo calling plays for their team again, but one has to consider that this time around, he wouldn’t have Mike Zimmer breathing down his neck every time he decided to not run the ball 40 times per game.

Once the Super Bowl ends and O’Connell is officially introduced as Minnesota’s new head coach, we should start to hear more about who is going to be a part of the team’s coaching staff for 2022. Until then, we will just have to continue to speculate about who could end up on the Vikings’ new coaching staff.