Vikings Rumors: Rams' Wes Phillips Hired as OC for Kevin O'Connell's Staff

New Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell is reportedly bringing a key Los Angeles Rams assistant with him up north.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Vikings are planning to hire Rams passing game coordinator and tight ends coach Wes Phillips as their offensive coordinator.

Rapoport noted that Phillips' role with the Rams under O'Connell is likely to "mirror" what O'Connell did as the Rams' OC under head coach Sean McVay.

McVay, O'Connell and Phillips were all part of the Rams' coaching staff that led L.A. to a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

The 43-year-old Phillips broke into the coaching ranks at the college level and notably served as the quarterbacks coach at Baylor in 2006 before making the move to the NFL.

He spent seven seasons with the Dallas Cowboys in a multitude of roles, including offensive quality control coach, assistant offensive line coach and tight ends coach.

Phillips then served as the Washington Commanders' tight ends coach from 2014-18 before McVay hired him to take on the same role with the Rams in 2019.

McVay elevated him to passing game coordinator this past season in addition to the continuation of his role as tight ends coach.

The L.A. passing game thrived in 2021 following the acquisition of quarterback Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions.

With Phillips serving as passing game coordinator, Stafford threw for 4,886 yards, 41 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Also, Cooper Kupp enjoyed one of the greatest seasons ever by an NFL wide receiver with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns, all of which led the league.

Phillips will have plenty of talent to work with in Minnesota as well, including running back Dalvin Cook and wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.

He will also be tasked with helping veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins get the Vikes back to the playoffs after missing out in each of the past two seasons.

Cousins is a divisive figure among fans, but he was named a Pro Bowler for the third time last season and completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 4,221 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Phillips has coaching in his genes, as his father Wade Phillips was head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Cowboys in addition to being defensive coordinator for several teams.

Also, his grandfather Bum Phillips was an NFL head coach for 11 seasons with the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints.

While Wade and Bum were both defensive coaches, Wes Phillips his carving out his own path on the offensive side of the ball, and he has the biggest opportunity of his career ahead of him in Minnesota.