The VikingsTerritory Endorsement for MIN’s Next Head Coach
The Minnesota Vikings concluded first interviews of general manager candidates on Thursday, likely creating a mini-wave of second interviews upcoming.
The new man or woman will be tasked with hiring a head coach, and Vikings ownership is already surveying the field. Even though the new boss will make the head coach decision, Mark and Zygi Wilf are already chatting with prospective head coaches.
Curiously, Minnesota has not yet spoken with Eric Bieniemy, Byron Leftwich, or Brian Daboll – men considered hot coaching candidates amid this hiring cycle. The team may be waiting for the coaches’ teams to wrap up their playoff pursuits.
If the decision were left up to the writers at VikingsTerritory, the Vikings would hire Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The Bills recently spanked the New England Patriots in the playoffs, a team responsible for utter abuse of Buffalo in the last two decades. In fact, the Bills played a perfect offensive game, refusing to punt, settle for field goals, turn the ball over – or anything outside of touchdowns. Indeed, Daboll’s offense beat the hell of a Bill Belichick defense, a man classified as the most brilliant defensive mastermind in the history of the sport.
VikingsTerritory writers enjoyed Daboll before the flogging of the Patriots, merely confirming their desires in the Wildcard Round of the postseason. The Bills looked fantastic, bring some of that to Minnesota – is evidently the mindset.
When Josh Allen arrived in Buffalo as a rookie in 2018, he wasn’t very accurate and was rough around the edges. Daboll and the Bills polished Allen marvelously, grooming the Wyoming alumnus into a Top 5 NFL quarterback. And the Vikings could be in the market for a rookie, too, if trading Kirk Cousins is on the offseason agenda of the new general manager. If that happened, Daboll – based on what he did with Allen – is trustable for quarterback development. The Vikings don’t want another Christian Ponder, so Daboll in the saddle would theoretically prevent that.
Daboll, 46, is Canadian. A five-time Super Bowl champion on the Patriots coaching staff, Daboll has coordinated the Bills offense since the dawn of the Josh Allen era (from 2018 to now). Before that, he offensively coordinated Kansas City Chiefs (2012), Miami Dolphins (2011), and Cleveland Browns (2009-2010). Daboll has never coached an NFC team in any capacity.
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The Bills offense ranks fourth in the NFL during 2021 for offensive efficiency. It’s also scored the third-most points. Somewhere – even if it’s not with the Vikings – Daboll is going to land a head coaching gig. Real soon.
Other coaches mentioned by writers? “Second place” was Nathaniel Hackett from the Green Bay Packers. Kellen Moore and Eric Bieniemy also received ample attention.
Most of the polling was conducted before the Vikings requested an interview with Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. Because of Morris’ dual-citizenship coaching defense and offense, he’s all the craze right now.
On Daboll, now the Vikings just have to interview the man. He was not a part of the first wave of Vikings HC discussions.
The Bills take on the Chiefs Sunday night in the AFC’s Divisional Round.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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