A Look at the Key Cogs in the Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff

The 2009 season is a big season for the Minnesota Vikings.  Coming off a NFC North title in 2008, expectations for the coming season are high.  Owner Zygi Wilff has put his stamp of approval on some big money free agent signings since becoming owner of the team, and he expects to see big results.

I will take a brief look at the three members of the Vikings' coaching staff who will have the most say in the team's success in 2009.

Head Coach Brad Childress

Childress started his coaching career at the University of Illinois in 1978, and was an assistant at various universities through the 1998 season.  His most notable experience as a college assistant was from 1991-1998 as he served under Barry Alvarez at the University of Wisconsin.

Childress became the quarterbacks coach for new (and still current) Philadelphia Eagles' head coach Andy Reid in 1999, a capacity he served in through the 2002 season.  He was then promoted to offensive coordinator, a position he held through the 2005 season before becoming the Vikings' head coach in 2006. 

In Philadelphia, Childress helped mold Donovan McNabb into the star quarterback he has become.

In Minnesota, Childress has not been able to repeat the success he had working with McNabb.  His fate has coach seems inevitably tied to the play of QB Tarvaris Jackson, who has not proven himself to be a NFL-caliber quarterback and the team keeps bringing in competition for him.

Childress has faced scrutiny for conservative offensive game planning during his tenure as Vikings' head coach, but that is perhaps a bi-product of an overall lack of talent and consistent play at quarterback and wide receiver.

2009 will be a big year for Childress, and he is probably coaching to keep his job in 2010.

Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell

Darrell Bevell came to Minnesota in 2006, and has served as the team's offensive coordinator during his three seasons.  Previously, he had served as an assistant coach on the offensive side of the ball for the Green Bay Packers from 2000-2005.

Bevell played quarterback at the University of Wisconsin in the mid-1990's, at the same time Brad Childress was on the coaching staff there.

Bevell worked with quarterback Brett Favre as Packers' quarterbacks' coach from 2003-2005, and his friendship with Favre has played a part in the speculation that Favre may want to play for the Vikings.

The offensive game planning, which has been known to be on the conservative side under the Childress/Bevell regime, probably will not change much in 2009 since running backs Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor seem to be the team's two best offensive players and the offensive line is strong.

Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier

Frazier was a defensive back on the 1985 Chicago Bears who won Super Bowl XX, so he knows a little bit about good defense.

Frazier served as head coach for Trinity College from 1988-1996 and then was the defensive backs coach at the University of Illinois before joining the coaching staff of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999. 

He would serve as the Eagles' defensive backs coach through the 2002 season before becoming the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator in 2003.

Frazier would serve on the Bengals' coaching staff through the 2004 season before joining the staff of Indianapolis Colts' head coach Tony Dungy in 2005.  He served as the Colts' defensive backs coach through the 2006 season.

Frazier replace Mike Tomlin as the Vikings' defensive coordinator prior to the 2007 season, when Tomlin was hired to be the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Due to the success of the Vikings' defense under Frazier, he has been interviewed for multiple head coaching vacancies in the NFL during the past two offseasons.  It seems to only be a matter of time before he is a head coach at the NFL level.