Viking Coaching Staff Moves
The Vikings hired two coaches for Brian Flores’ defensive staff on Saturday, Jan. 31, while making two changes to their offensive staff designed to help their run game and reboot their offensive front.
According to a source with knowledge of the moves, the Vikings hired former Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith as their assistant head coach, bringing him in for a key role shaping the run game after his time with Mike McDaniel in Miami.
The Vikings promoted assistant offensive line coach Keith Carter to their top offensive line coach job and hired two veteran coaches — Ryan Nielsen and Gerald Alexander — for their defensive line and defensive backs coaches jobs.
Smith played a key role in constructing a Dolphins run game in Miami that ranked sixth in the league in 2023, as Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achance helped the Dolphins lead the league in offensive yards that season.
In Minnesota, he’ll likely give a boost to the Vikings’ run game, while using his offensive line background to help Carter take over a group that continued to struggle in 2025 after a major series of offseason investments.
Carter received the only internal promotion in the group, replacing Chris Kuper as the offensive line coach after the Vikings decided not to renew Kuper’s contract. The 2025 season was Carter’s first in Minnesota, after seven seasons with the Titans and Jets. The Vikings used more than 20 different offensive line combinations last season, while center Ryan Kelly navigated a series of concussions and left tackle Christian Darrisaw tried to return from his 2024 knee surgery. Players in Tennessee and New York criticized Carter’s coaching style, but his first season in Minnesota helped him get the promotion once he’d had a chance to articulate his vision for the offensive line in an interview for the job.
Nielsen had interviewed for the Vikings’ defensive coordinator job in 2023 before the team hired Flores; the longtime Saints defensive line coach was the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator in 2024 before he was fired as part of Doug Pederson’s staff in Jacksonville. He’ll replace Marcus Dixon, who had interviewed for other jobs this offseason after his contract in Minnesota expired.
Nielsen will also be the Vikings’ defensive run game coordinator, while Alexander gets the defensive pass game coordinator title added to his job. Alexander had been Flores’ defensive backs coach in Miami during his final two years as the Dolphins head coach, before moving to Pittsburgh with Flores as part of Mike Tomlin’s staff in 2022. He was the Raiders’ safety coach in 2024 before returning to Pittsburgh as the defensive backs coach in 2025.
Alexander replaces Daronte Jones, who was hired as the Commanders’ defensive coordinator this week. The Vikings could also look for an assistant defensive backs coach to replace Michael Hutchings, who left to become Cal’s defensive coordinator.
Assistant head coach Mike Pettine, who had been with the Vikings since O’Connell took over as head coach in 2022, retired after the 2025 season.
STRIB
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
So, I know that these were two sentences that jumped out, immediately:
"According to a source with knowledge of the moves, the Vikings hired former Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith as their assistant head coach, bringing him in for a key role shaping the run game after his time with Mike McDaniel in Miami.
Smith played a key role in constructing a Dolphins run game in Miami that ranked sixth in the league in 2023, as Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achance helped the Dolphins lead the league in offensive yards that season."
KOC either requested, or was assigned, help for the rushing offense...so, that'll hopefully bear fruit early and often.
The promotion of Carter is interesting, because there were concerns that he was too "mean" for the Vikings' culture. Either he adapted, or they've chosen to.
KOC, JJM, Flores...make a good plan, or you'll be following Kwesi....
So just to understand this, they fired the offensive line coach because the offensive line has sucked for years and promoted his assistant. Wow this is just fucking unbelievable and just so Viking way of doing shit. Wonder who's idea this was. Can't blame Kwesi for this promotion. Maybe KOC flexing his power. Same crappy line play for another year until the new GM sees what a cluster fuck this staff is.
Greylock wrote:
So just to understand this, they fired the offensive line coach because the offensive line has sucked for years and promoted his assistant. Wow this is just fucking unbelievable and just so Viking way of doing shit. Wonder who's idea this was. Can't blame Kwesi for this promotion. Maybe KOC flexing his power. Same crappy line play for another year until the new GM sees what a cluster fuck this staff is.
That assistant only got hired last year, it's not like he was a long-running part of the problem.
KOC, JJM, Flores...make a good plan, or you'll be following Kwesi....
Greylock wrote:
So just to understand this, they fired the offensive line coach because the offensive line has sucked for years and promoted his assistant. Wow this is just fucking unbelievable and just so Viking way of doing shit. Wonder who's idea this was. Can't blame Kwesi for this promotion. Maybe KOC flexing his power. Same crappy line play for another year until the new GM sees what a cluster fuck this staff is.
Maybe Kuper was the problem and the assistants on staff were the coaches some (or many) of the players advocated for?
We'll never know for sure, but I strongly believe the players know when they are getting good coaching or not. They can influence these types of staff decisions.
Regardless of the moves made, it just wont please all of us armchair GM's
I'm choosing to take the hopeful road for now.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
Greylock wrote:
His last two stops in Tennessee and Jets, the offensive line players had nothing good to say about him. Why not go outside of the organization and hire a respected oline coach.
Yup, it was a head-scratcher at the time for me too. Hell, the whispers were loud from Titans and Jets b4 that hire was made.
But those are also 2 orgs who have been shits hows for years, so I wouldnt be surprised if someone left them and got better somewhere else.
At least it's not unintuitive that it could happen.
I also lead/managed people for 25+ years and saw individuals grow and get better for lots of reasons (nurture & nature).
I mean look at Flores? He seems to have turned it around as a DC and most likely got a nice bump from the Vikings to stay. He may never get to HC, but his teams have performed really well here and the players luv the guy and his schemes. Harry and Gink (and more) are on record for the guy.
I dont know how the new OL coach will do? But I believe people can get better.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
purplefaithful wrote:
Yup, it was a head-scratcher at the time for me too. Hell, the whispers were loud from Titans and Jets b4 that hire was made.
But those are also 2 orgs who have been shits hows for years, so I wouldnt be surprised if someone left them and got better somewhere else.
At least it's not unintuitive that it could happen.
I also lead/managed people for 25+ years and saw individuals grow and get better for lots of reasons (nurture & nature).
I mean look at Flores? He seems to have turned it around as a DC and most likely got a nice bump from the Vikings to stay. He may never get to HC, but his teams have performed really well here and the players luv the guy and his schemes. Harry and Gink (and more) are on record for the guy.
I dont know how the new OL coach will do? But I believe people can get better.
This speaks volumes.
I for one am stoked about the Frank Smith hire. He was the one I was hopeful that we would bring in.
I thought this was an interesting nugget: "In an NFLPA survey of 1,700 players conducted during the 2023 season, Smith was voted as the No. 1 offensive coordinator in the league."
The question now is, what will he do for the Vikings? As an AHC, is he going to help KO game-plan, only focus on improving the run game, or will he take over play calling in some facet? We still have Wes Phillips, yes?
purplefaithful wrote:
Yup, it was a head-scratcher at the time for me too. Hell, the whispers were loud from Titans and Jets b4 that hire was made.
But those are also 2 orgs who have been shits hows for years, so I wouldnt be surprised if someone left them and got better somewhere else.
At least it's not unintuitive that it could happen.
I also lead/managed people for 25+ years and saw individuals grow and get better for lots of reasons (nurture & nature).
I mean look at Flores? He seems to have turned it around as a DC and most likely got a nice bump from the Vikings to stay. He may never get to HC, but his teams have performed really well here and the players luv the guy and his schemes. Harry and Gink (and more) are on record for the guy.
I dont know how the new OL coach will do? But I believe people can get better.
So an unpopular coach from a series of shitshow/desperate orgs is going to improve things, I'll wait to buy-in. I know success is trying one more time than you fail, just got a feeling it takes more than a rah rah poster meme to win it all.
Don’t know if this is a great hire or not and I also understand people being upset that we got a guy from a “dysfunctional” organization. Question: How many coaches from the Patriots dynasty succeeded elsewhere?
Wow, so Frank Smith isn't even the OL coach and Flores does not get the assistant head coach title? That's a bit surprising. I can only surmise that Flores didn't want or lobby for the AHC title. I'm sure he's happy just running his defense with a few more quid in his pocket.
StickierBuns wrote:
Yep. JMO, I think Flores has limitations. His ceiling is DC. We resigned him to a fat contract, so let's let him eat.
With him not having the asst HC title in MN, does that give him an out to take a Quasi lateral move in the future to a team that wants him as DC, but is willing to add that tag?
Why isn't Chuck Foreman in the Hall of Fame?
MaroonBells wrote:
Wow, so Frank Smith isn't even the OL coach and Flores does not get the assistant head coach title? That's a bit surprising. I can only surmise that Flores didn't want or lobby for the AHC title. I'm sure he's happy just running his defense with a few more quid in his pocket.
Agree on both.
My guess is Flores didnt want the HC title...I would have bet some decent level of $$ he would have gotten the title bump in the new contract.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
purplefaithful wrote:
Agree on both.
My guess is Flores didnt want the HC title...I would have bet some decent level of $$ he would have gotten the title bump in the new contract.
Tend to agree. I think if he lobbied for it he could've gotten it considering how much the Vikings wanted him back. I mean, it's just a figurehead title anyway.
MaroonBells wrote:
Tend to agree. I think if he lobbied for it he could've gotten it considering how much the Vikings wanted him back. I mean, it's just a figurehead title anyway.
I started to think he didn't sign an extension in the offseason for leverage now. Why reports were coming out about college even. Kinda tells me that he knows he won't get a HC job and he needed all the leverage he could get to be paid.
medaille wrote:
I don't think the title does much for Flores and can be better used on tipping the tide in bringing another coach in.
The title was given to Frank Smith, a run game specialist, so it seems clear to me the direction the Vikings would like to go in. But can KOC get past his passing OCD?
One interesting stat to me is that the Vikings were 27th in rushing attempts despite ranking 6th in yards per carry. And this for a team with two rookie QBs running most of the show. The Seahawks, with 2X Pro Bowler Sam Darnold playing every game, were well below the Vikings in YPC, but ran the ball 100 more times than we did.
MaroonBells wrote:
The title was given to Frank Smith, a run game specialist, so it seems clear to me the direction the Vikings would like to go in. But can KOC get past his passing OCD?
One interesting stat to me is that the Vikings were 27th in rushing attempts despite ranking 6th in yards per carry. And this for a team with two rookie QBs running most of the show. The Seahawks, with 2X Pro Bowler Sam Darnold playing every game, were well below the Vikings in YPC, but ran the ball 100 more times than we did.
For all the talk about Kwesi and the QB decision, does anyone think that Darnold would have been any better than 2024 if he stayed on the Vikings? Darnold had bad days for the Seahawks, against us in particular. But their coach dialed back the deep throws, ran the ball and knew how to keep Darnold from fully melting down. KOC never figured that out in the last 2 games. Both of those games were winnable, but the play calling never adjusted.
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