Vikings Quietly Began a Coaching Staff Shakeup
The 2026 Minnesota Vikings will not have full coaching staff continuity like the last few seasons. The team has opted to let offensive line coach Chris Kuper’s contract expire, meaning the Vikings will hire a replacement in the next few weeks.
The Vikings made their first offseason coaching move, letting Chris Kuper go as a staff reshuffle begins under Kevin O’Connell.
Kuper joined the Vikings’ coaching staff at the dawn of the O’Connell era in 2022, lasting four seasons and now thrust into unemployment, where he’ll look for a new gig before the start of the 2026 campaign.
Chris Kuper’s Exit Signals at Least a Casual Staff Reset
After months of fans suggesting it, Kuper is out.
Vikings Won’t Renew Kuper’s Contract
The Kuper era in Minnesota is done. The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis wrote Saturday, “The Minnesota Vikings will not bring back offensive line coach Chris Kuper for next season, the team confirmed to reporters on Saturday. Kuper’s exit marks the second coaching staff change of the offseason. Last week, head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that assistant head coach Mike Pettine was retiring.”
“Kuper, 43, has been with the team since 2022. He was hired by O’Connell as the team’s offensive line coach after O’Connell accepted the head coach role. Kuper has remained in his role for four seasons, but his contract expired days after the end of the season, and he will not return for 2026, the team said in a statement released to reporters.”
Those who wanted Kuper gone have also wondered whether offensive coordinator Wes Phillips is the right man for the job. The Vikings, though, extended Phillips’s contract last summer. His job may be safe. O’Connell said last week that he was still reviewing any coaching staff changes.
The Numbers Did Kuper No Favors
On Kuper’s watch, the Vikings produced these marks, according to Pro Football Focus:
Vikings Offensive Line Rankings,
per PFF,
Since 2022:
2022: 13th
2023: 12th
2024: 18th
2025: 18th
Minnesota also surrendered the second-most sacks in 2025, and the interior pressure surrendered to opponents ranked at the league’s bottom.
It’s also worth noting that the Vikings shot for the stars with offensive line construction during the 2025 offseason, forming a unit that included Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, and Brian O’Neill.
The personnel was not suspect.
Too, Minnesota traded 2022 2nd-Round draft pick Ed Ingram to the Houston Texans last March after three years of struggles. Upon arriving in Houston, Ingram turned into a Top 15 NFL guard by the numbers. It’s situations like that which prompted Vikings fans to wonder if Kuper needed to go.
Now, he’s gone.
Injuries Also a Culprit
Of course, Kuper didn’t have a totally easy go of it in 2025. The Vikings used 25 offensive line combinations, as the injuries just would not relent.
Darrisaw’s ACL didn’t heal properly, and the team put him on ice in mid-December. Four-time Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly sustained three concussions. Jackson, the rookie left guard, overcame a broken wrist. O’Neill missed time, too.
Kuper will assuredly tell anyone who cares for years to come that injuries did him in with the Vikings.
Replacements?
O’Connell will replace Kuper sometime in the next month, and it’s a safe bet that some of his options could be coaches from his past, either from his days with the Los Angeles Rams, Washington Commanders, or Cleveland Browns. The Vikings’ skipper is never shy about calling on players and coaches of yesteryear.
Too, Bill Callahan was whispered in the rumor mill — the guy who led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl 23 years ago. But former Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, freshly hired by the Falcons as their head coach, hired Callahan last weekend.
Another name might be Dwayne Ledford, who whisked the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive line to respectability in 2025. The Falcons fired Raheem Morris on the final day of the regular season, and Ledford now needs a job. He cooked in Atlanta.
SI.com‘s Will Ragatz noted on Ledford last weekend, “Ledford, 49, has been with the Falcons since 2021. In addition to serving as their OL coach, he’s been Atlanta’s run game coordinator for the past two seasons. The Falcons have boasted a very strong offensive line and running game in recent years. Right guard Chris Lindstrom has made four straight Pro Bowls, and Atlanta’s other standout offensive linemen include tackles Kaleb McGary and Jake Matthews, guard Matthew Bergeron, and centers Drew Dalman and Ryan Neuzil.”
“If the Vikings could find a way to land Ledford, it would be a big hire for O’Connell and company. They’ve got all the makings of a strong offensive line with Christian Darrisaw, Brian O’Neill, Will Fries, Donovan Jackson, and whoever’s playing center in 2026. Health is critical there, but so is coaching. If hired, Ledford would also presumably replace RBs coach Curtis Modkins as run game coordinator. The Vikings have never finished above 22nd in EPA per rush in four years under O’Connell.”
Kuper played for the Denver Broncos from 2006 to 2013.
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