Posts by Adam Warwas

Pagac Is Officially Out

January 15, 2012, by 12 comments

The Vikings had been interviewing candidates for a Defensive Coordinator position that was still held by Fred Pagac.

That ends today.

The team has not hired a new defensive coordinator yet, and the list of candidates has again grown and now includes Miami Dolphins interim head coach Todd Bowles, but they did officially remove the title from Pagac.

The Vikings offered for Pagac to return to his previous job of coaching the team’s linebackers, but it is unknown if he will be willing to accept the demotion.  The linebackers job currently is held by Mike Singletary, a candidate for the defensive coordinator position himself.

This move is thought to be a sign the Singletary will be moving to the coordinator position.

A CFL Update

January 13, 2012, by 1 comment

As I have previously noted, the Vikings are currently scouring the CFL for potential talent that may be able to contribute to this team’s eventual turnaround.

Offensive tackle Jovan Olafioye and linebacker Solomon Elimimian have yet to sign with any NFL teams, and defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell signed a futures contract with the Miami Dolphins.

A new CFL name has emerged on the Vikings radar, however.

Edmonton Eskimos tailback Jerome Messam is expected to work out for the Vikings in the near future.  The Bengals and the Dolphins are also expected to work him out.

At 6’ 3” and 245 pounds, the bruising back rushed for 1,149 yards in 2011 prior to tearing his meniscus in a semifinal game.

[UPDATE:  Mitchell, who seems like he might have a screw a little bit loose according to this article, actually ended up re-signing with the B.C. Lions.]

This Is Getting Silly

January 13, 2012, by 2 comments

You think the Vikings search for a Defensive Coordinator is a tired and boring storyline to follow?

Just remember how long you have been hearing about the stadium battle.

Governor Mark Dayton called for all final proposals to be submitted by this week’s deadline and the finally tally is in.  The governor received nine, yes nine, proposals to solve the team’s stadium woes.

Some of them are doozies.

Charles Hollom (pictured here with Al Franken) offered to pay the entire $1 billion cost of a stadium if it is built on the University of Minnesota farm school, but I’m not sure he know exactly how much a billion dollars is given his constant misuse of commas in his letter to the Governor.  Needless-to-say, Mr. Hollom of The World Desert Reclamation Society provides little detail in his letter and is unlikely to be taken seriously, but he promises more details to be provided in the coming weeks.

Mr. Hollom shouldn’t let his feelings get hurt, however, as there are a few ideas that might be tossed aside even quicker than his generous offer.

Minneapolis architect Robert Roscoe designed a retractable roof stadium that could be built for only $300,000 with all of the materials coming from your local Menard’s hardware store.  In fact, Roscoe’s vision involves an enlarged truck topper on sawhorses with wheels that can be rolled on and off the field of play depending on weather.

“You can make a huge camper stadium cover in the form of a camper top, and put it on sawhorses,” said Roscoe about his idea. “That’s on wheels on rails so you can roll it back and forth depending on the weather.”

It is hard to take Roscoe seriously at all, especially since he refers to iconic Viking heavyweights as “Ziggi Wilf” and “coach Buck Grant” in his letter to the Governor.

Other proposals include the insane idea of building the world’s largest iPOD, a stadium in the parking lot near the Mall of America, a special Vikings promotional card, and an Eagan gaming proposal.

The truth of the matter is there are only two and half proposals that will be taken seriously.  Here they are with links to their official submittals:

Arden Hills

Minneapolis

Shakopee

With nine proposals on the table, the clock continues to do nothing but tick.

Peterson Tries To Put Minds At Ease

January 13, 2012, by No comments yet

Through the last five years of NFL football, there have been four words that became every Vikings fans worst nightmare.

“And down goes Peterson.”

Adrian Peterson is not only a first round pick, not only a hundred million dollar running back, he is the heart and soul of the team.  That is why it hurt all of us to see him writhing in pain during a week 16 matchup against the Redskins.

Peterson tore his ACL and his MCL in the third quarter of that game and two weeks ago he underwent reconstructive surgery.  Friday, he crossed a stage without crutches (but with a brace) and used the media to let all of us fans know he will not be a lost cause from this point forward.

“I feel like I’m going to come back better than before,” Peterson said. “I know people might laugh at that or think otherwise, but you know what? It doesn’t matter what they think or how they feel about it. The only thing that matters is how I feel about it and what I believe.”

I’m not going to laugh at Peterson, that much is for sure, but I do think that his goals of being even better and also returning by week one of 2012 might be a bit lofty.  Still, I’ve yet to hear of a person willing to bet against him.

The Vikings head trainer Eric Sugarman praised Peterson for already being ahead of schedule with his rehabilitation.  Sugarman said Peterson is already riding a stationary bike, extending the injured knee, and there are plans to have him jog in a pool next week.

Sugarman and Peterson both acknowledged they will have to fight the temptation to let Peterson’s elite physical abilities trick them into thinking he is ready for more than he really is.

“I know around the two-month mark, the three-month mark, it’s going to be feeling good and that’s when it’s at its weakest, the ACL,” Peterson said. “I’m just going to have to be smart and listen to these guys and just take it slow during that time.”

The Vikings Add A Camp Arm Already

January 13, 2012, by 3 comments

As of right now, the Vikings have two quarterbacks on the roster:  Christian Ponder and Joe Webb.

Friday, they added a third.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson played for UCLA his freshman year before transferring to Sacramento State.  Last year he spent time with the Dolphins, Niners, in the UFL, and in the AFL.  His time with Sacramento State was marred by injuries.

At 23 years old, Bethel-Thompson is likely to be little more than a camp arm this offseason, but it is nice to see Rick Spielman getting a jump start on filling even the smallest of needs this Vikings roster has.

Links Of The Week: Some Down Time

January 11, 2012, by 9 comments

This week hasn’t generated much news, other than a few Coordinator candidates dropping from the list, but I managed to drudge up some solid links for you all to check out:

 

Updates On The Coordinator Search

January 11, 2012, by 4 comments

As far as we know, the Vikings have five potential Defensive Coordinators currently on their radar for the 2012 season.  Here is an update on where each are currently at:

Fred Pagac:  Still officially listed as the team’s current Defensive Coordinator, Pagac is in limbo watching his potential replacements come and go as the Vikings continue interviews.

Raheem Morris:  The Vikings interviewed him last week, but no offer was made.  Morris is now off the market as he has accepted a job as Washington’s secondary coach.

Mel Tucker:  The Vikings interviewed Tucker on Tuesday, but it sounds like the Jaguars are going to make a strong push to keep him in the fold.  It seems likely that the Vikings are now the underdog to land his services.

Steve Spagnuolo:  While currently enjoying a vacation, Spags remains one of the hottest names available, and the Vikings are again underdogs to land the big name.  All indications are that he will be re-joining the Eagles.

Mike Singletary:  There are not very positive reviews floating around about Singletary’s season as the Vikings linebackers coach, but Leslie Frazier’s former teammate and good friend is expected to interview for the Coordinator position soon.