Photo: Quinn Harris – USA TODAY Sports

We thought the offseason fireworks would wait until next week but the Minnesota Vikings showed some of their hand on Thursday. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the new leaders at TCO Performance Center hired and retained multiple coaches for O’Connell’s staff on Thursday.

Most notedly, a new defensive coordinator — 65-year-old Ed Donatell — who’s spent the last three seasons in the same position for the Denver Broncos and has 42 years of NFL coaching experience. The Vikings also want to retain wide receivers coach, Keenan McCardell, who reportedly clicked really well with Justin Jefferson last season.

Source says the #Vikings will name Ed Donatell as their new defensive coordinator next week under new coach Kevin O’Connell. Donatell, 65, was Denver’s defensive coordinator the past three seasons.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) February 10, 2022

Donatell Hire Signals Winds of Change.

The Ed Donatell hire isn’t a complete surprise, for a couple of reasons. First, his age and experience. It has been rumored since 36-year-old Kevin O’Connell was hired that the Vikings liked the idea of ​​pairing the young, first-time head coach with a defensive coordinator who’s been around the block. Donatell and Adofo-Mensah worked together when their careers crossed paths in San Francisco and reportedly got along well.

But there are a few questions about Ed Donatell and it starts with the 3-4 defensive scheme he’s expected to implement. Look, the Minnesota Vikings have been a bad 4-3 defense for a couple of years, under Mike Zimmer. But as currently constructed, they’d be a much, much worse 3-4 defense.

Eric Kendrick’s No Longer Makes Sense?

On Thursday for example, Paul Allen and Ben Leber discussed on KFAN radio whether or not Eric Kendricks can be an effective linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. Kendricks has been an all-pro caliber player during most of his entire 7-year career, including a career-high 143 tackles in 2021.

But there are legitimate questions surrounding his size and capabilities both on the edge or in the middle of a 3-4 scheme, something Allen has clearly been struggling with. The conversation starts at the 21:00 mark below and goes for a few minutes. I only typed out one of the more interesting parts.

—

ALL: “If I say, ‘Eric Kendricks is not a 3-4 linebacker’, am I overstating it? Am I wrong? Because I’ve said it like 3 times. I just think he’s too small for the inside and he’s not…”

LIVER: “… and he’s not an outside guy, yeah. That’s the direction I’m going. I gotta be careful here because I think he’s such a good player, he’s such a good athlete and he has such amazing instincts. To say that he can’t make the transition, I think it’s foolish. I think it’s going to be difficult for him, though. It’s a defense, in my mind, that doesn’t speak to his specific skillset and I think it’s going to enhance the weaknesses that he has.”

“You are [as an inside LB in a 3-4 defense] taking on a fair amount of more blockers. We’re not talking fullbacks and tight ends. We’re talking guards and tackles. That is not his strong point. He does not have long arms. He’s not a thumper when it comes to getting off blocks. It doesn’t come natural for him to play off blocks and you do have to two-gap a lot as an inside linebacker [in a 3-4 scheme].”

92Noon Show – KFAN

If Eric Kendricks doesn’t fit the new scheme, the Vikings could cut him and save $7.5 million. I doubt it would come to that. Finding a trade partner who would deal for an all-pro caliber 4-3 middle linebacker shouldn’t be a problem. But if the Vikings decide to move on from Kendricks, who in the fuck are they going to keep?

Danielle Hunter

Well, the conversation starts with Danielle Hunter, who is due an $18 million roster bonus if he isn’t moved, cut or extended by March 20. If there’s any freak athlete on the Minnesota Vikings who would transition to a 3-4 scheme with relative ease, it’s a healthy Danielle Hunter.

But does the new regime see it that way? Hunter is an Andre Patterson product and posted a picture to social media of the two hugging after it was announced that Patterson was hired by the New York Giants on Thursday. Premier pass rushers are difficult to come by but the Vikings front office could save a lot of money and gain some legitimate draft capital, should they decide to move the oft-injured 4-3 defensive end before 3/20.

Easily expandable

If the Vikings choose a full-on defensive rebuild, which seems more and more likely as the days pass by, they could easily flip most of Mike Zimmer’s defense in just one offseason. From a contract standpoint (according to spotrac.com), the Vikings would save money by trading or cutting almost everyone.

• Danielle Hunter: $18.6M Saved
• Eric Kendricks: $7.5M Saved
• Harrison Smith: $5.7M saved
• Michael Pierce: $6.2M saved
• —
• Anthony Barr: FA
• Patrick Peterson: FA

Some of those players may have trade value, like noted above. Expendable contracts would only make negotiations with other teams easier. The only contract on defense that is ‘uncuttable’ is Dalvin Tomlinson’s. If the Minnesota Vikings were to cut or trade Tomlinson, they’d have to pay a $10 million cap penalty. He’s only on the books for $7.5 million this season.

Both Tomlinson and Pierce, unlike others, would probably fit pretty well in a 3-4 scheme. Defensive backs like Cam Dantzler, Kris Boyd, Camryn Bynum and other playing on rookie deals don’t matter in this conversation. Their money is minimal and they have very little contract power.

In other words, the options are limitless. If Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Co want to blow up Mike Zimmer’s defense and start over from the ground up, it’ll be relatively easy for them to do. At least from a money standpoint.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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According to a report by NFL.com, Jim Harbaugh and the Vikings had an “exploratory meeting” Saturday afternoon about Minnesota’s head coaching vacancy.

The Vikings “plan to conduct in-person second interviews for their head coaching job with several candidates this week” while they “continue to explore the possibility of hiring Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh,” Tom Pelissero detailed Sunday morning.

According to the report, Minnesota Michigan requested and received permission to speak with Harbaugh. The interview was held to “gauge his interest” and while no further meetings are currently scheduled, “Harbaugh remains a candidate for the job.”

“It wouldn’t be surprising if the Vikings brought him into the facility this week,” Pelissero wrote.

On Saturday, ProFootballTalk was the first to report that it was Harbaugh Interview with the Vikings. This news came a day after Sam Webb of This was confirmed by the Michigan Insider that rumors of mutual interest between the Vikings and Harbaugh have “merit”.

Speculation about Harbaugh’s future has been rife since the Michigan soccer team wrapped up their best season in a decade. The Wolverines won 12-2, beat Ohio State, won the Big Ten Championship and made the college football playoffs for the first time ever.

Harbaugh, who is under contract with Michigan through the 2025 season, took a widely publicized pay cut last January as part of his stimulus-laden deal. While Harbaugh has said publicly that he doesn’t mind the contract — “I’d do it for free,” he once said of his job — his name has been linked to several NFL job offers in recent weeks.

The newest and the one that seems to have the most steam right now is in Minnesota.

The Vikings fired coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman after Minnesota finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings’ new general manager, was a staffer with the San Francisco 49ers at the end of Harbaugh’s tenure there.

Earlier this week, Adofo canteen explained as he approaches Minnesota’s coach search.

“We will dive into this head coaching quest and bring a partner to me and this organization that will take us where we want to be,” said Adofo-Mensah. “We’ve had some initial talks, but those were just the first; of course, we will go into more detail on that as the week progresses.”

The Vikings have not commented on the Harbaugh report, but the organization says it interviewed Nathaniel Hackett, Dan Quinn, Kellan Moore, Jonathan Gannon and Todd Bowles for the head coaching role.

Sunday NFL.com The Vikings will reportedly be conducting multiple second interviews with NFL coordinators this week “while they continue to explore the possibility of hiring Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.”

As always, stay tuned to The Michigan Insider for updates.

If you missed previous updates, click on the links below.

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San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell is expected to play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, less than two weeks after surgery for a broken finger, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Mitchell, officially classified as questionable for Sunday with a finger and rib injury, had finger surgery on November 16. He suffered a rib injury against the Chicago Bears on October 31, but did not miss any time before injuring his finger.

Mitchell was limited in training this week, but Niners trainer Kyle Shanahan said Friday the rookie was moving in the right direction.

Mitchell, a Louisiana pick in the sixth round of this year’s draft, has established himself as the 49ers’ top running back. In his seven games, Mitchell leads the 49ers in carry (116) and rushing yards (560), and he’s 12th in the NFL in yards per carry (4.8).

The post San Francisco 49ers RB Elijah Mitchell anticipated to play vs. Minnesota Vikings appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell is expected to play the Minnesota Vikings on the street on Sunday, less than two weeks after surgery for a broken finger, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Mitchell, officially classified as questionable for Sunday with a finger and rib injury, had finger surgery on November 16. He sustained a rib injury against the Bears on October 31, but did not miss any time before injuring his finger.

Mitchell was limited in training this week, but coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday the rookie was moving in the right direction.

Mitchell, a Louisiana pick in the sixth round of this year’s draft, has established himself as the 49ers’ top running back. In his seven games, Mitchell leads the 49ers in carry (116) and rushing yards (560) and is 12th in the NFL in yards per carry (4.8).

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the Minnesota Vikings (5-5) face it San Francisco 49ers (5-5) at Levi’s Stadium for Week 12 of the NFL. Let’s take a look at the betting lines for Sunday’s matchup. The 49ers are preferred at -169, currently marked as 3.0 point favorites, while the Vikings are at +150. The total dotted line is 49.0, with OVER at -110 and UNDER at -110.

• The Vikings have a 6-4-0 ATS record this season while the 49ers hold a 4-6-0 record.
• The Vikings have a 5-5-0 O / U record this season (meaning five games exceeded total points and five went under). The 49ers also have a 5-5-0 O / U record.

Points on the blackboard

• The Vikings have an average of 25.5 points per game this season (13th in the league). In comparison, the 49ers averaged 24.6 (16.).
• Defensively, the Vikings are dropping a whopping 24.2 points per game this season (22nd in the league), while the 49ers drop an average of 22.2 points (T11.).

Move chains

• With an average of 387.0, the Vikings rank 7th in the league for total yards per game. In comparison, the 49ers rank 13th with 359.3 yards per game.
• In terms of allowed yards, the Vikings forego 378.9 per game (28th in the league) this season, a minority compared to the 49ers, who lose an average of 318.3 (6th).

Rise in the air

• The Vikings have recorded 267.8 pass yards per game this season (8th in the league). By comparison, the 49ers defense gave up 202.4 yards per game (3rd).
• Meanwhile, the 49ers have posted 236.1 pass yards per game this season (15th in the league) while the Vikings defense has given up 251.9 pass yards per game (T20.).

Advantage on the ground

• Looking at ground play, the Vikings have recorded 119.2 yards per game this season (11th in the league). The 49ers rank slightly worse in defense of the run, ranking 20th while allowing 115.9 per game.
• On the flip side, the 49ers have posted 123.2 rushing yards per game this season (8th in the league), while the Vikings forego 127.0 rushing yards per game (27th).

Protect ball

• Looking at their ability to force sales, the Vikings have posted a total of 12 takeaways this season (T16 in the league) while the 49ers have not performed on the same level at 9 (T26).
• On the offensive, the Vikings have recorded a total of 6 giveaways (T1 in the league) this season and thus exceeded the number of 49ers out of 14 (T17.).

First goalscorer

The Vikings are +100 to score first while the 49ers are -130.

• The Vikings have scored the first goal in six of their ten games this season.
• The 49ers have scored the first goal in five of their ten games this season.

Which team will get the first touchdown?

• The Vikings have scored the first touchdown in eight of their ten games this season.
• The 49ers have scored first touchdowns in six of their ten games this season.

First scoring game

Minnesota touchdown 4/10 +250

Minnesota field goal 2/10 +330

Minnesota Security 0/10 +8000

San Francisco Touchdown 4/10 +165

San Francisco field goal 1/10 +400

San Francisco Security 0/10 +9000

Which team has a quick start?

The Vikings are +120 and the first team to get 10 points while the 49ers are -150.

• The Vikings were the first to score 10 points in seven of their ten games that season.
• The 49ers were the first to score 10 points in five of their ten games this season.

Money line for the first quarter

The 49ers are preferred in the 1st quarter moneyline market, currently at -145, while the Vikings are +125.

• The Vikings have a 5-2-3 W / L / T record in the first quarter this season while the 49ers hold a 5-4-1 record.

The last time they met

The 49ers struck a 27:10 win over the Vikings at Levi’s Stadium when those teams last met in the Divisional Round of the 2019 season.

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