Vikings Have One Unique Advantage over Rams per New Offensive Coordinator
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings may not have the stacked roster of the Los Angeles Rams — not many teams do — but the organization does have an advantage unique from the Super Bowl champions.
And that’s a fanbase that fully embraces football, according to new Vikings offensive coordinator, who was a member of the Rams coaching staff in 2021. Phillips was the quarterbacks coach under Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell.
O’Connell, the new Vikings head coach, introduced some of his coaching staff on Thursday, allowing speaking time for men like Phillips, Ed Donatell (defensive coordinator), and Matt Daniels (special teams coordinator). All three men were ultra-impressive, and Phillips took the time to elaborate on the fans:
“I’m excited to be in a football town, a football state, a football region. Even in just being here a few days, I had to get a haircut because they told me I had a press conference. Sitting there waiting for a haircut, people getting haircuts, and people cutting the hair, all they’re talking about is the Minnesota Vikings. You don’t get as much of that in LA. There’s a lot of things to do there.”
– Wes Phillips | Minnesota Vikings
While it’s true Los Angeles has the Lombardi trophy for at least one year, Minnesota evidently has the community.
In Tinseltown, fans grant priority to teams like the Lakers and Dodgers, and the Rams, at times, seem to take a backseat. The Rams roster in 2021 was that of a Hollywood production, laced with a star-studded cast from top to bottom. Men like Aaron Donald, Odell Beckham, Jalen Ramsey, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Von Miller, and Matthew Stafford helped deliver the team a title. But even during the lead-up to glory, the stadium was often overrun, for example, by San Francisco 49ers fans when the Rams and 49ers matched up.
That doesn’t happen at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Teams like the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys generate commendable showings for their fanbases during Vikings homes games, but nothing like the 49ers onslaught as SoFi Stadium.
Indeed, even in the “State of Hockey,” the Vikings are king in Minneapolis. Sometimes they don’t deserve it, but the Vikings take the cake for priority in the Twin Cities. The Minnesota Twins were close to a World Series berth in 2002. The last time the Minnesota Wild made a serious push at a championship was in 2003. A year later, the Minnesota Timberwolves were reasonably close to the NBA Finals.
In fairness to the Twins, they’ve won three World Series (1924, 1987, 1991). The Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.
The expectation for O’Connell and Phillips is to deliver a Super Bowl in Minneapolis. In the Super Bowl era, the Vikings are NFL’s fifth-best team per winning percentage but are winless in four Super Bowl visits. Of the Top 14 teams per win percentage since 1966, Minnesota is the only team without a Lombardi trophy to its name.
The next building block toward this quest is free agency. Players can return to old teams or sign elsewhere in two weeks.
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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