The Minnesota Vikings‘ head coaching vacancy is perhaps the best available position in the NFL, and it would be a dream job for a couple of top offensive minds said to be in the market for new opportunities.
Minnesota is not likely to name a head coach until they select a general manager, as both Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman got the ax just one day after the Vikings’ finished up a disappointing 8-9 season and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. It would seem, then, that handicapping potential candidates for the job might be a tricky proposition, particularly for a sportsbook that could lose some serious coin should they get it wrong. But that didn’t stop @SportsBettingAG, which released odds Wednesday, January 11 on who the next Vikings head coach will be.
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The two names at the top of the list: Eric Bieniemy, offensive coordinator (OC) of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Brian Daboll, the OC of the Buffalo Bills.
Odds Say Coordinators in KC, Buffalo Have Best Shot to Land Vikings Job
GettyAdam Thielen (left), of the Minnesota Vikings, celebrates with teammate Dalvin Cook (right) after catching a touchdown in the second quarter of the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
It appears that whoever team ownership decides on for general manager, the odds-on money favors the Vikings bending toward an offensive mind to lead their sideline.
That makes logical sense considering the talent across the offensive side of the ball, starting with Pro-Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, Pro-Bowl wide receiver Justin Jefferson and pass catcher Adam Thielen, inarguably one of the top No. 2 options in all of football. Minnesota can also trot out Kirk Cousins under center — who happens to be the league’s fifth-rated QB, per Pro Football Focus — should they choose to do so instead of trading him.
Enter Bieniemy (+300) and Daboll (+400) as favorites to land the head coaching gig, per a tweet from Chad Graff, Vikings reporter for The Athletic Minnesota. Both offensive coordinators have a long history of coaching in the NFL to varying degrees of success.
Beiniemy, Daboll Boast Lengthy NFL Resumés
(Getty)Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has been with the Kansas City Chiefs organization since 2013.
Bieniemy has been the Chiefs’ OC for four seasons, presiding over one of the greatest offensive units of all-time. Kansas City has yet to fall short of the AFC Championship game during his tenure as coordinator, appearing in the last two Super Bowls and winning a ring in 2019-20. The Chiefs are the No. 2 seed heading into this year’s playoffs, which begin Saturday with Wildcard Weekend.
The Kansas City offense and its quarterback Patrick Mahomes have been the driving force behind the Chiefs’ tremendous level of success. In 2018, Bienimy’s first season at the offensive helm, the team put together the third-highest scoring unit in history with 565 points, or an average of 34.8 points per game, according to Statmuse. The Chiefs finished second in the NFL in total points in 2019, sixth in 2020, and fourth this season. The team has never averaged fewer than 28 points per contest during Bieniemy’s time as offensive coordinator.
Before his tenure in Kansas City, Bienimy spent five years coaching the Vikings running backs and was promoted to assistant head coach of the offense in 2010 before leaving in December of that season. He coached in college before getting his NFL start with Minnesota in 2006.
Daboll began his NFL career with the New England Patriots in 2000, where he was a defensive assistant and then wide receivers coach working under Bill Belichick. He then coached for the New York Jets before getting his first job as an offensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns in 2009.
Daboll did not find much success in Cleveland, as his offenses ranked at, or near, the bottom of the NFL both seasons he held the job. He left in 2011 to be the OC with the Miami Dolphins and then joined the Chiefs to run their offense the following season, where he also remained for just one year.
Daboll returned to the Patriots in a lesser role before leaving to serve as offensive coordinator under Nick Saban at the University of Alabama in 2017. The next year, he joined on with the Bills and has worked as their offensive coordinator for four seasons. Daboll helped to develop quarterback Josh Allen, now one of the top signal callers in the NFL, and has presided over a Bills offense that has finished third in overall point production in each of the last two regular seasons.
Also high on the list of potential candidates to take over as Vikings head coach are: Andre Patterson (+800), current assistant head coach in Minnesota; Brian Flores (+800), who most recently served as head coach of the Miami Dolphins for three seasons before a surprise firing earlier this week; and Doug Pederson (+900), who lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl Championship after the 2017-18 regular season campaign.
Two Offensive Gurus Named Favorites to Land Vikings Head Coaching Job