Vikings DC Search Now a 3-Way Pick ’em
Dustin Baker
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For 15 days, the Minnesota Vikings have sought a defensive coordinator replacement for Ed Donatell, who departed the organization on January 19th. Minnesota allowed the second-most yards and third-most points to opponents in 2022, so the franchise opted for change in 2023.
On Friday, the Vikings quest for a new defensive bossman narrowed to three men after contender Sean Desai, an associate head coach for the Seattle Seahawks, withdrew from the interview process.
Vikings DC Search Now a 3-Way Pick ’em
Mike Klis from 9News in Denver tweeted Friday, “Not only have Broncos requested an interview for Seattle associate HC Sean Desai for DC but Desai has withdrawn from consideration for MIN DC job, per source. Desai interviewed with the Vikings last week. Wants to concentrate on DEN. Vic Fangio recommended Denver to Desai.”
Desai, 39, interviewed for the same job with the Vikings one year ago and evidently now prefers the mountains of Colorado to the lakes of Minnesota for prospective employment.
He began his coaching career at Temple University in 2006. Here’s his full resume to date:
- Temple University: DEF & ST Coach (2006–2010)
- University of Miami (FL): Assistant Director of Football Ops (2011)
- Boston College: RB & ST Coordinator (2012)
- Chicago Bears: DEF Quality Control Coach (2013–2018)
- Chicago Bears: Safeties Coach (2019–2020)
- Chicago Bears: DEF Coordinator (2021)
- Seattle Seahawks: Associate HC / DEF Assistant (2022–present)
With Desai out of the defensive coordinator equation, the Vikings search dwindles to three names — Brian Flores (Pittsburgh Steelers), Mike Pettine (Vikings), and possibly Ejiro Evero (Broncos).
Evero has not interviewed with Kevin O’Connell, but ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweeted Wednesday, “The reason the Vikings’ search for a defensive coordinator has been quiet lately is that, per sources, they’re waiting to see if they can get an interview with the Denver Broncos’ Ejiro Evero. At the moment, he’s a candidate for the head coach job in Indianapolis and Arizona.”
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell have ties to Evero from employment in San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.
In all likelihood, the race is technically two-way, as Minnesota probably would’ve hired Pettine by now. He’s an in-house candidate and served as the Vikings assistant head coach in 2022. Conventional logic suggests Minnesota wants Evero or Flores.
And the only real way Minnesota won’t end up with Flores or Evero can be described as a quasi-doomsday scenario where the Arizona Cardinals hire Flores as head coach, and the Indianapolis Colts do the same for Evero. Both men have already interviewed for those head coaching positions.
Before Evero became a realistic candidate for Minnesota, VikingsTerritory polled fans about their preference, and the result was overwhelmingly Flores.
The last time the Vikings hired a new coordinator with an existing coaching staff was in 2021, when Mike Zimmer gave Klint Kubiak the offensive coordinator nod. That news hit on February 9th, 2021, so the wait shouldn’t be much longer.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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