With the recent Jeff Saturday hiring, who are some former Minnesota Vikings players that could make for a good NFL head coach one day?
After he was recently named the interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Jeff Saturday became the first former NFL player to be hired as a head coach in the league without any previous college or NFL coaching experience since the Minnesota Vikings hired former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Norm Van Brocklin as the franchise’s first-ever head coach in 1961.
Plenty of former NFL players go on to become coaches in the league. In fact, most NFL head coaches have played the game at some point in life. Current Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is someone who spent a few years in the NFL as a backup quarterback before deciding to pursue a career in coaching.
But to be named an NFL head coach without any previous coaching experience in the league or at the college level is a rare move, as it has only been done once before Saturday’s recent hiring. It’s hard to gauge how Saturday’s tenure will turn out with the Colts, but it’s also just as hard to be thrown into the fire with no experience.
If Saturday falters in his tenure, it’s safe to say that the NFL head coaching hires in the future will continue to come from either former head coaches or coordinators from around the league looking for a promotion.
However, if Saturday leads Indianapolis to success for the rest of the season, it’s hard to argue against giving more former players a chance at coaching, regardless of experience.
If bringing in players as coaches becomes a normal trend, some former players that have donned the purple and gold make excellent candidates to follow Saturday’s move. Who are a few former Vikings that would potentially make great head coaches?