Seattle’s offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, Seattle’s defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton all have been reported to have interviews scheduled for the vacant head coaching position with the Minnesota Vikings.
No college head coaches have generated much buzz around Winter Park other than Bill O’Brien and Jim Mora… and talks quickly died down with them after reports surfaced that the Vikings had reached out to them.
The Vikings have taken their time so far with Ray Horton and Todd Bowles, leading me to believe Spielman might have his eye on, or would like to talk with, a coach that is still focused on winning playoff games.
Darrell Bevell should interview with the Vikings sometime this weekend because the Seahawks have a bye weekend in the playoffs.
Bevell is an out-of-the-box type candidate because he was on the Vikings staff from 2006-2010 but was shown the door when Leslie Frazier took over as head coach.
Spielman’s willingness to talk with Bevell now, leaves me scratching my head a bit and wondering if this is just a cat and mouse game Spielman is playing to disrupt the Seattle playoff run.
The one thing I do know is that the Vikings are working hard to keep offensive line coach Jeff Davidson in Minnesota. Davidson and Bevell have no real connection together that I know of, so my guess is Bevell might be a long shot to land the job.
The idea of bring Bevell’s youthful energy, experience and knowledge working with the Vikings’ personnel is intriguing. It is no secret that Bevell and Brett Favre are good friends and have shared many great football moments together. Bevell as head coach and Favre as a possible offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach would certainly go a long way in Spielman’s effort to win the locker room back. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.
But the guy on this list that I think might have a better shot being named the next Vikings’ head coach is Ray Horton. I will write more about Ray next week after he interviews with the Vikings on Tuesday.
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Thanks for the update, Carl.......off subject: Kluwe (ex NFL punter, rock n roll wanna be, liberal rights activist, internet writer, etc) vs Wilfs ( billionaires with political connections ) ........got a feeling Kluwe's gonna wish he had never opened his publicity seeking mouth !
idk anything about him, but horton fulfills the roonie obligation, which makes me wanna take that interview with a grain of salt. would favre be a good coach? no idea, but i'd love the dig to phackers fans it would provide. if spielman was trying to sell me a used car, i'd check the oil for sawdust
the big question is, where's big johnny? is he still at the dome? maybe he's still dragging a row of seats down 35W to iowa
The Bowles interview is scheduled for a day before Horton, so I don't think it is only out of a need to fulfill the Rooney Rule... in fact, my personal hunch, Horton is the most serious candidate at this point.
didn't know that. just hope these guys are good
Horton had several interviews last year and seemed to turn off teams. Seems like a polar opposite of Frazier and I don't know that they should go in the complete opposite direction of Frazier's player friendly approach. I'm actually wondering if bringing Horton in is more a pre-cursor to trying to get him here as the defensive coordinator. He could end up getting fired when Cleveland hires a new HC, so even though they say he's interviewing for the HC job there could be a wider agenda with that interview.
I'm impressed with the way the Vikings have handled the Kluwe situation. If the independent review can't find any truth to Kluwe's allegations... Kluwe will have a tough time being taken seriously as an advocate for anything.
i wonder, do gay guys ever feel heterophobic?
calving,
Horton is very good. He is part of the Norv Turner coaching tree. I know he is a defensive guy, but he has been hired by some of the top offensive minds in the league.
I think Horton has earned enough respect around the league that he could put together a very nice offensive staff.
that's good to know, thanks. now i've got to get out to the barn and help my cows with their calves. later
I have to say I'm really warming up to the idea of Bevell being the HC. I don't think Spielman is just messing with Seattle. Really it was Frazier who decided not to retain Bevell as the OC when he officially became the head coach. If anything, if Spielman hired Bevell and he became a successful HC, it would almost be further proof of mistakes Frazier made when assembling his staff. Spielman had less power when Frazier took over, so for all we know Rick may have been campaigning for Bevell to stay back then. The biggest question mark I would have with Bevell is can he bring in a great DC, but as I mentioned above, if Horton winds up getting fired when a new HC is hired in Cleveland, that job could wind up going to him.
On a sidenote, after watching the Bengals get dominated in the 2nd half, I have to wonder why Ken Whisenhunt isn't getting mentioned for our job. If Zimmer and Gruden are on our radar, the former HC who led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl (yeah, the Cardinals) should be as well.
Dan,
Great point on Whisenhunt. I think Spielman is interested in Whisenhunt, but he might be just laying low at the moment so he doesn't drive the interest and demand up even more.
Heard Whisenhunt is who the Lions want....that it's his job to lose.
The good news is QB Blake Bortles is turning pro.
The QB pool just just got a little deeper.
Packers go down. That is good, can't stand to see them win. I figured they would, that defense is terrible.
Don't know much about Bortles...heard he might be a project. That's not what we need.
Well, they're all pretty much projects. They're rookies, they all have something to work on. Ponder was supposed to be the most NFL ready guy in his class and we've all seen how that worked out. I'll take a guy with high end tools to develope and let Cassel start for a year if need be.