Vikings Hire New Coach for 2024 Staff

Dustin Baker   |  

Feb 13, 2024

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The Minnesota Vikings won’t have too much coaching staff turnover from 2023 to 2024. Somewhat surprisingly, would-be hot candidates like Brian Flores (defensive coordinator), Keenan McCardell (wide receivers coach), and Daronte Jones (defensive passing game coordinator), for example, stayed put and will coach Vikings players in 2024.

Vikings Hire New Coach for 2024 Staff

But the club did add one newcomer coach last week — Marcus Dixon. He’ll coach the defensive line in 2024. Dixon replaced Chris Rumph, who joined Clemson University’s coaching staff.

The Vikings’ main social media account tweeted Friday, “The Vikings have hired Marcus Dixon as the team’s DL coach and added OLB coach to Mike Pettine’s title.”

Minnesota plucked Dixon from the Denver Broncos coaching staff, where he spent two seasons in 2022 and 2023 with the same title under defensive line coach under Nathaniel Hackett in 2022 and Sean Payton in 2023. Now, he’ll coach men like Harrison Phillips on Sundays and whichever defensive tackle upgrade(s) the Vikings might find in free agency or the draft.

Here’s Dixon’s coaching resume to date:

Dixon was a part of the 2021 Rams team that won the Super Bowl over the Cincinnati Bengals, coworkers with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who was Los Angeles’ offensive coordinator that season. Right after winning the Lombardi trophy, O’Connell became the Vikings’ skipper, and Dixon headed for Denver.

Now, the two will reunite in Minnesota.

Dixon also played in the NFL. He mostly served as a backup defensive end and played 22 regular season games for the New York Jets from 2010 to 2012. Here is his NFL resume as a player:

• Dallas Cowboys (2008–2009)
• New York Jets (2010–2012)
• Kansas City Chiefs (2013)
• Tennessee Titans (2014)

Vikings.com wrote about Dixon’s onboarding to Minnesota’s staff last week, “In his second season with Denver in 2023, Dixon coached a defensive line that helped the Broncos record a league-leading 15 fumble recoveries, the most in franchise history since collecting 16 in 2007. The defensive line also contributed to the Broncos limiting their opponents to a 33.2-percent conversion rate on third downs, the second-lowest percentage league wide in 2023, trailing only the Cleveland Browns (29.13 percent).”

The Vikings’ defense ranked 11th in 2023 per DVOA, a vast improvement in Brian Flores’ first year from 2022 under Ed Donatell. Minnesota is expected to use ample free-agent cash to improve defensive personnel in free agency, which kicks off in one month.

Dixon will turn 40 in September.

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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,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.