Report: Vikings to Interview Pat Shurmur on Friday
Austin Belisle
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The coaching carousel continues for the Minnesota Vikings. After losing former running backs coach Kirby Wilson to the Cleveland Browns, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport revealed that the Vikings are set to interview former Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur on Friday. The only opening on the staff is Wilson’s vacated position, but it’s unlikely Shurmur would fill that role given his prior experience.
Ex-#Eagles OC Pat Shurmur set to interview with the #Vikings in the coming days. Only current open job is for RB coach. Would be interesting
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 21, 2016
According to ESPN’s Ben Goessling, Shurmur is a potential candidate to become the St. Louis Rams’ next passing game coordinator. Shurmur is an experienced positional coach who most recently served as Chip Kelly’s offensive coordinator from 2013 to 2015. Before that, he was the head coach of the Browns during the 2011 and 2012 seasons and the Rams’ offensive coordinator from 2009 to 2010. Per Pro Football Reference, his longest tenure came with the Eagles, where he spent 10 seasons (1999-2008) as the team’s quarterbacks coach.
It’s unclear now what role Shurmur would play if the Vikings did hire him. He has experience as a tight ends coach, offensive line coach, quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator, and head coach, but the Vikings appear set at each of those positions. The long-shot, unexpected move would be to bring Shurmur in as the Vikings’ new offensive coordinator.
Crazy, but Zimmer never confirmed that Norv Turner would be back this season. In his final press conference of the year, when asked if Turner would return in 2016, Zimmer said the following:
[quote_center]”I anticipate, yes.”[/quote_center]
That’s not the brightest of endorsements from a coach like Zimmer, and Turner’s job may very well be in jeopardy behind the scenes. If Norv does return and Shurmur is hired, he could serve as the team’s passing game coordinator or co-offensive coordinator. Or, he could replace Scott Turner as the quarterbacks coach and aid in Teddy Bridgewater’s development. Bridgewater’s mechanics suffered last season, and Shurmur has had experience working with notable passers. Donovan McNabb, Nick Foles, and Sam Bradford are a few of the notable names.
At this time, it’s all just speculation. Shurmur is a veteran among NFL coaches and his hire would give the Vikings a fourth assistant with head coaching experience. Only Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer know the situation in Winter Park, and we’ll be sure to update you as more news breaks on the matter.