Vikings Coaching News: Wes Phillips Coming to Minnesota, Deshea Townsend Picks Jaguars
What better way to kick off Super Bowl Sunday than with a couple pieces of Minnesota Vikings coaching news?
There have been rumblings about the Rams' Wes Phillips following Kevin O'Connell to Minnesota as the Vikings' offensive coordinator, and ESPN's Adam Schefter has confirmed that that's expected to be the case.
Offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell is set to become the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings after Super Bowl LVI, and he is expected to take Rams tight ends coach/passing game coordinator Wes Phillips as his offensive coordinator or passing game coordinator, per league sources.
Phillips, 43, has spent four of the past five seasons working with O'Connell in Los Angeles and Washington. He'll be able to help implement the Sean McVay offense in Minnesota, working closely with O'Connell to reshape things offensively for the Vikings.
Phillips is the son of former longtime NFL defensive coordinator and head coach Wade Phillips. Wes landed his first job in the league as an offensive quality control coach when Wade was named the Cowboys' head coach in 2007, but he's worked his way up the coaching ranks on a different side of the ball than the one his father coached. After four years in Dallas, the two weren't on the same staff until the 2019 season with the Rams.
A former UTEP quarterback, Phillips had a couple college coaching jobs before being hired by Dallas. He was an assistant offensive line coach for the Cowboys for a couple seasons, then became their tight ends coach in 2013. He's held that role ever since, in Washington (2014-18) and LA (2019-2021). McVay, who has worked with Phillips in six of the last eight years, added passing game coordinator to Phillips' title last offseason.
Whether Phillips is named the OC in Minnesota or the PGC, he'll be O'Connell's right-hand man.
In other news, the Vikings have to adjust their plan at secondary coach. It appeared that Deshea Townsend was joining their staff in that role, but he had a "change of heart" and is joining Doug Pederson's Jaguars staff, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapaport.
It's unclear exactly what happened there, but O'Connell and the Vikings now have to pivot to someone else. With 13 seasons as a NFL cornerback and 11 season coaching defensive backs since then, Townsend appeared to be a solid pickup for Minnesota.
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