Wes Phillips, Chris O’Hara To Follow O'Connell To Minnesota
With the various changes to coaching personnel around the league winding down, teams are beginning to officially unveil their 2022 staffs. The Seahawks recently did so, confirming a number of changes following a disappointing season, but some important retentions as well.
As Bob Condotta of The Athletic tweets, Sanjay Lal is remaining with the team in his current role of wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator. The 52-year-old has worked with that position group on seven different teams dating back to 2009. He spent the 2020 campaign in Seattle, but spent last season in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, Karl Scott, 36, is officially being brought in as the team’s secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator. That move had been expected since last week when it was reported the team was in talks with him.
In addition, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports (in a pair of tweets) more names on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Dave Canales will remain as the team’s QBs coach, a role he first had in 2018, but he will no longer have the passing game coordinator title. Brad Idzik has been added as an assistant WRs coach; he entered the NFL with Seattle in 2019. Lastly, Nate Carroll has been promoted to senior offensive assistant, after spending 11 years with the Seahawks in various roles.
As for the defensive staff, Aaron Curry is now an assistant defensive line coach; the former Seattle draftee spent the last two seasons on their sideline. He will be joined in that role by Damione Lewis. Another former player on staff is DeShawn Shead, who has been promoted to defensive backs coach. The last to fit that description is Will Tukuafu, who is coming aboard as a defensive quality control coach.
Here are some other coaching notes from the NFC:
- USA Today’s Mike Jones tweets that it is “sounding like” Wes Phillips and Chris O’Hara will be following newly-hired head coach Kevin O’Connell to Minnesota. The former, who is also the son of Wade Phillips, has been a TEs coach with three different teams, the most recent being the Rams. It was reported earlier this week that O’Connell was expected to give him the role of either OC or passing game coordinator. The latter only spent the 2021 season in L.A., but worked as an offensive assistant in Jacksonville and Washington before that.
- According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, the Falcons are parting ways with WRs coach Dave Brock (Twitter link). The 54-year-old has an extensive background in the college ranks, but his only NFL experience was in Atlanta starting in 2017. Chandler Henley, who had been an assistant offensive line coach with them, has left to join the Dolphins.
- The Packers are supporting new ST coordinator Rich Bisaccia with Byron Storer, reports Matt Schneidman of The Athletic (Twitter link).The 37-year-old has worked with Bisaccia in each of his other three NFL coaching locations, and even knows Aaron Rodgers dating back to their college days.
- Lastly, the Bears are hiring Brent Salazar as their strength and conditioning coach (Twitter link via Wilson). He has more than a decade of experience in the NFL, having previously worked with three different teams. He also spent the years between 2017 and 2020 as the director of performance for the United States Tennis Association.
Vikings Hire Kevin O’Connell
It’s officially official. On Wednesday, the Vikings officially announced the hiring of Kevin O’Connell as their new head coach. 
“We are ecstatic to add Kevin as our head coach,” said Vikings owner Mark Wilf. “He is a strong leader, an innovative coach and an excellent communicator. Kevin played the game at all levels, which gives him a unique connection to players, and he is highly respected throughout the league. Vikings fans should be excited for the future of this team under Kevin’s direction.”
The Vikings shook hands with O’Connell two weeks ago, though they had to wait as his Rams went on to win the Super Bowl. As LA’s OC, O’Connell guided the unit to place No. 9 in total offense (372.1 yards/game). Meanwhile, his veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp both enjoyed career years. Even when Odell Beckham Jr. was taken out of the championship game, the Rams’ offense still had enough juice to top a tough Bengals team and win it all — that’s a testament to the team’s remarkable depth, as well as O’Connell’s coaching.
O’Connell will be the Vikings’ first offensive-minded head coach since Brad Childress.The past two HCs — Mike Zimmer and Leslie Frazier — were known for their defense but did not deliver the desired results in Minnesota.
Although O’Connell is respected all around the NFL, he’s only been a play-caller for a three-month stretch, doing so after Washington fired Jay Gruden early in the 2019 season. Sean McVay kept the laminates in Los Angeles, but he’s always been a huge advocate of O’Connell, encouraging other clubs to consider him for head coaching jobs. That surely helped his case in Minnesota, though the Vikings didn’t need much convincing.
“As I spent time with Kevin during the interview process, it became immediately clear he will be a great partner in building this football team for long-term success,” said new Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. “He understands what is critical to leading a team that wins at the highest level, and he has an ability to simplify the complex, which will help us in problem-solving in all football areas. He is a genuinely positive person who will help create a high-energy internal environment.”
Vikings To Interview Thomas Brown For OC Job
Following a Super Bowl win on Sunday, Rams running backs coach Thomas Brown is now eyeing a potential promotion. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), Brown will interview with the Vikings for their offensive coordinator job.
[RELATED: Vikings Plan To Hire Rams’ Kevin O’Connell]
Former Rams OC (and new Vikings head coach) Kevin O’Connell will surely recruit some of his fellow Rams coaches to Minnesota, and it appears that Brown is on his list. Only 35, Brown has made a rapid rise through the coaching ranks. Following a nine-year stint in the NCAA, Brown has spent the past two years with the Rams. After starting as RBs coach in 2021, Brown also earned the title of assistant head coach in 2021.
Thanks to his success in Los Angeles, Brown was considered for the Dolphins HC gig this offseason. According to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network (on Twitter), Brown impressed the Dolphins brass, and the coach is considered a “respected offensive mind” around the NFL.
Meanwhile, the Vikings are finalizing their deal with O’Connell to be their new head coach, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). An announcement is coming, and the press conference is expected to take place on Thursday.
NFC Coaching Notes: Giants, Seahawks, Bears
Brian Daboll is naturally making some changes to the Giants coaching staff. Per Aaron Wilson on Twitter (detailed in four tweets), the Giants have hired Drew Wilkins as linebackers coach, Christian Jones as an offensive assistant, Laura Young as director of coaching operations, Bobby Johnson as offensive line coach, Shea Tierney as quarterbacks coach, DeAndre Smith as running backs coach, Mike Groh as wide receivers coach, Andy Bischoff as tight ends coach, Tony Sparano Jr. as assistant offensive line coach, and Andre Patterson as defensive line coach.
Daboll also retained a handful of holdovers from Joe Judge’s staff. That grouping includes Jerome Henderson (defensive backs coach), Mike Treier (assistant defensive backs coach), Anthony Blevins (special teams assistant), and Nick Williams (special teams quality control coach).
Finally, the Giants shifted Ryan Hollern to college scouting coordinator and named Mark Loecher as assistant strength and conditioning coach.
Some more coaching notes out of the NFC…
- The Seahawks will promote Andy Dickerson to their offensive line coach, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson (via Twitter). Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron recruited Dickerson from the Rams last offseason, with Dickerson earning the role of run-game coordinator. Now, he’ll earn the (apparent) promotion to OL coach. The Seahawks fired former offensive line coach Mike Solari last week, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). This was the 67-year-old’s second stint with the organization, and he had served as the team’s OL coach since 2018.
- The Bears announced last week that they hired Carlos Polk as their assistant special teams coach. The 44-year-old coach has served in the same role with a handful of teams, including the Chargers, Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Jaguars. He spent the 2021 campaign in Jacksonville.
- The Cardinals have hired Matt Burke as their defensive line coach, reports Pelissero (on Twitter). The 45-year-old was the Dolphins defensive coordinator between 2017 and 2018, and he most recently worked for the Jets as a “game management coach.” Burke has also had coaching stints with the Eagles, Bengals, Lions, and Titans.
- The Vikings have hired Brian Angelichio as their pass game coordinator/tight ends coach, reports ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter). Angelichio spent the past two years as the Panthers tight ends coach, so he’s getting a slight promotion in Minnesota. Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the Vikings are hiring Jerrod Johnson as an offensive assistant. Johnson is expected to work with the QBs. The coach was a two-time participant in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, and he spent last season as the Colts quality control coach.
- Matt Rhule has made some changes to his staff. The Panthers announced that they’ve hired Joe Dailey as wide receivers coach. Dailey has spent the past two seasons as Boston College’s offensive coordinator. Meanwhile, Robert Kugler was hired as assistant offensive line coach while defensive analyst Kevin Gilbride Jr. was promoted to TE coach (replacing Angelichio).
Deshea Townsend Pivots From Minnesota To Jacksonville
- Finally, Deshea Townsend is being hired by the Jaguars, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). This comes as a surprise, since he was expected to join the Vikings’ staff, but changed course due to a perceived sense he’ll get a “bigger role within the defense” in Jacksonville (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of The St. Paul Pioneer Press). He has previously worked with cornerbacks with five different teams, including four in the NFL, Chicago being the most recent.
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Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order
With Super Bowl LVI finished, the final two places in the 2022 Draft have been finalized. The Bengals’ top pick is locked into 31st, while the Rams will not have a selection until the third round. For the rest of the league, the focus has already shifted to free agency and the draft, of course, so now all eyes will be on the offseason maneuvering teams do to reshape their rosters.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.
Pending trades, here is the final first round order of the 2022 Draft:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
- Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
- Houston Texans: 4-13
- New York Jets: 4-13
- New York Giants: 4-13
- Carolina Panthers: 5-12
- New York Giants(via Bears)
- Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
- Denver Broncos: 7-10
- New York Jets (via Seahawks)
- Washington Football Team: 7-10
- Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
- Cleveland Browns: 8-9
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
- Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
- New Orleans Saints: 9-8
- Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
- New England Patriots: 10-7
- Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
- Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
- Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
- Buffalo Bills: 11-6
- Tennessee Titans: 12-5
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
- Green Bay Packers: 13-4
- Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
- Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
- Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7
- Detroit Lions (via Rams)
Vikings Plan To Hire Mike Pettine, Not As DC
Now that Super Bowl LVI is over, the Vikings should be able to start moving forward with their coaching staff hires. One coach expected to join the staff in Minnesota is former Browns’ head coach Mike Pettine, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Contrary to prior rumors that Pettine was the favorite to land the defensive coordinator job, Pelissero tweeted out that, with Ed Donatell reportedly hired to be the defensive coordinator, Pettine will join the staff in a different capacity. 
So far, no Minnesota coaching hires have officially been announced but, with the Rams’ season finally over, the Vikings will be happy to welcome Super Bowl Champion Kevin O’Connell to the facility. With his focus no longer on a postseason run, O’Connell and the Vikings can start making moves to build their new staff.
One of those first moves is Pettine. Although he will not serve as the defensive coordinator of the Vikings, Pettine brings a plethora of experience having served in that role in the past for the Jets, Bills, and Packers. He will also be able to provide some valuable head coaching insights to the rookie O’Connell. Pettine spent last season as a senior defensive assistant for the Bears after not being retained as the Packers’ defensive coordinator following an NFC Championship loss to the eventual Super Bowl LV champion Buccaneers.
Along with O’Connell, Donatell, and Pettine, rumored hirings in Minnesota include Chris Kuper as the expected offensive line coach, Chris Rumph as the expected defensive line coach, and Curtis Modkins as the expected run-game coordinator and backfield coach. Expect for official hires to start being announced and for the rest of the coaching staff to start coming into focus.
Latest On QB Cousins And Vikings
The expected addition of Rams’ offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell as head coach of the Vikings will reportedly keep quarterback Kirk Cousins in Minnesota for another year, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports. 
The idea of new leadership is viewed as a positive for Cousins, who is interested in letting his contract year play out under the new head coach. However, it won’t be enough of a positive for Cousins to give his club a deal and rework his contract this offseason. Cousins is set for a fully-guaranteed salary of $35MM for the 2022 season and will hold a cap number of $45MM.
Rostering Cousins is becoming more and more expensive for the Vikings. In addition to having to shell out for the last year of his backloaded current contract, a franchise tag in 2023 for Cousins would end up costing the Vikings $64.8MM since he was tagged twice before in Washington.
Minnesota is starting to see the cost of the NFL’s first ever fully guaranteed contract and, if he performs at a high level in his contract year, Cousins will continue to hold all the cards in what could end up being quite an expensive extension to hold on to the tenth-year veteran.
Sean McVay, Zac Taylor In Line For Extensions; Latest On Rams’ Coaching Staff
Rams HC Sean McVay and Bengals HC Zac Taylor, who will be squaring off in Super Bowl LVI tonight, will be in line for contract extensions this offseason, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
We had already heard that Cincinnati was planning a new deal for Taylor, who has only one year left on his contract. Schefter does, however, remind us that Taylor — the former McVay disciple — is presently the lowest-paid head coach in the NFL, with a $3.75MM annual salary (Twitter link). Obviously, that will change soon.
McVay, meanwhile, was recently the subject of some idle speculation that he was contemplating leaving the coaching ranks, but he has put those rumors to bed. He is under contract through 2023 as a result of the extension he signed in 2019, a deal that elevated him from one of the league’s lowest-paid head coaches to a salary that, per Joe Rivera of the Sporting News, is believed to be in the $8.5MM ballpark. Another extension might mean an eight-figure annual income for McVay.
The 36-year-old head coach has compiled a 55-26 regular season record, three NFC West titles, and two NFC championships during his five-year run. The success that he and his clubs have enjoyed have made other teams anxious to poach his staffers, and that has happened again in 2022, with OC Kevin O’Connell set to become head coach of the Vikings and secondary coach/passing game coordinator Ejiro Evero heading to Denver to become the Broncos’ defensive coordinator.
As Schefter reports in a full-length piece, O’Connell is likely to bring Rams tight ends coach/passing game coordinator Wes Phillips with him to Minnesota to serve as the Vikes’ offensive coordinator or passing game coordinator. Schefter names Kentucky OC Liam Coen — a Rams staffer from 2018-20 — as a “prime candidate” to replace O’Connell, though RB coach Thomas Brown could also garner consideration for the soon-to-be-vacant OC job. Yet another candidate is Greg Olson, who spent the last four seasons as the Raiders’ OC but who was the Rams’ QB coach in 2017, McVay’s first season as HC.
Whether it’s to become Los Angeles’ new OC or to reprise his role as QB coach, Olson is expected to rejoin McVay’s staff in 2022.
DE Everson Griffen Intends To Play Next Season
Everson Griffen sat out the final seven games of the season as he dealt with a mental health incident, but the Vikings defensive end told Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com that he’s “doing great” and intends to play next season.
“Yeah, of course I’m looking to play again this season,” the impending free agent told the reporter.
In November, there was an incident at Griffen’s home. He first wrote in an Instagram story that he needed help and people were “trying to kill” him, and he later refused to leave the premises. Griffen called police himself and requested assistance himself, and while police acknowledged that the player had fired a round, no one was injured. The defensive lineman had previous mental health incidents in 2018.
“I’m doing great but I don’t want to talk about that time,” Griffen said. “I’m going to keep my personal business personal … I’m doing well, but I’m taking it one day at a time, and I feel good.”
Griffen had spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Vikings, and following a 2020 campaign where he split time with the Cowboys and Lions, the veteran returned to Minnesota for the 2021 season. Griffen made a Pro Bowl as recently as 2019, and he was productive in his nine games (six starts) with the Vikings this season, collecting five sacks and 10 QB hits. The 34-year-old wouldn’t commit to re-signing with the team, per Tomasson, and while the player also wouldn’t discuss the firings of Mike Zimmer or Rick Spielman, he did discuss the departure of defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson.
“He meant a lot to my career,” Griffen said. “He taught me great technique and I went out there on the field and I used his technique that he taught me. I worked hard for him. Coach P was a great coach. He was able to relate to players and he always had great speeches to make us understand how football was meant to be played.”