Inside The Vikings

Vikings Reportedly Hiring Chris Rumph as Defensive Line Coach

Rumph has spent the past two seasons with the Texans and Bears after a long college coaching career.
Will Ragatz|
Vikings Reportedly Hiring Chris Rumph as Defensive Line Coach
Vikings Reportedly Hiring Chris Rumph as Defensive Line Coach

The Vikings are expected to hire Chris Rumph as their new defensive line coach under defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, according to Pro Football Network's Aaron Wilson.

Rumph was the Bears' defensive line coach last season and got some great results out of a unit that dealt with several injuries to key players. Robert Quinn had 18.5 sacks for Chicago, which also got strong play out of a variety of defensive linemen. Before that, Rumph was the outside linebackers coach for the Texans in 2020.

Prior to spending the past two seasons in the NFL, Rumph was a successful D-line coach at the major college level for nearly two decades. From 2003 to 2019, he had stints at Memphis, Clemson, Alabama, Texas, Florida, and Tennessee, winning a ton of games and helping develop players and prepare them for the NFL. The former South Carolina linebacker got his start in coaching as a GA at SC and then spent five years as the head coach of the high school he attended.

Rumph has big shoes to fill in Minnesota, as he's replacing one of the most widely-respected defensive line coaches in the NFL in Andre Patterson.

With Donatell coming in as DC, the Vikings appear likely to switch to a 3-4 defense. Rumph, who has experience coaching both defensive ends and outside linebackers in 3-4 defenses, will be a major part of that transition. It'll require an adjustment in technique and responsibilities for returning players who learned how to play in Mike Zimmer and Patterson's 4-3 fronts.

Rumph's son, Chris Rumph II, played at Duke and was a fourth-round pick of the Chargers in 2021.

Here's what Kevin O'Connell's coaching staff looks like so far, with plenty more additions to come in the next few days. Nothing will be official until after the Super Bowl.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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