Courtesy of Vikings Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
The Minnesota Vikings have made a significant adjustment to the coaching staff just six days before the start of the regular season.
Alec Lewis of The Athletic reported on Monday, September 4, that defensive coach Mike Smith is taking a leave of absence effective immediately.
Vikings OLB coach/pass rush specialist Mike Smith is taking a personal leave of absence. Mike Pettine will be filling role in meantime alongside Imarjaye Albury, who is highly respected inside the building.
“Vikings OLB coach/pass rush specialist Mike Smith is taking a personal leave of absence,” Lewis wrote. “Mike Pettine will be filling role in meantime alongside Imarjaye Albury, who is highly respected inside the building.”
Lewis did not report details on the reason for Smith’s departure nor its expected length.
Vikings Replacing Mike Smith With 2 Established Defensive Coaches
GettyMike Pettine, former head coach of the Cleveland Browns, on the sidelines of an NFL game in December 2015.
Smith joined the franchise in 2022 after a three-year stint with the Green Bay Packers. He has connections with Pettine from their time together in Green Bay and with the New York Jets between 2010-12. Head coach Kevin O’Connell was a quarterback in the Jets organization for two of those seasons, per the Vikings’ official website.
The team noted that Smith was integral in recruiting outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith to the squad last season, who went on to join fellow OLB Danielle Hunter as Pro Bowlers in 2022 while combining for 20.5 sacks.
Pettine, employed as Minnesota’s assistant head coach, has been in the NFL for the last 21 years. He served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns for two seasons (2014-15), leading the team to a record of 10-22. He also served as defensive coordinator for the Packers for three seasons before joining the Vikings in 2021. Pettine was the Buffalo Bills DC in 2013 after a four-year run in the same position with the Jets.
Albury is a defensive assistant who joined Minnesota in 2020. He spent two seasons as the defensive quality control/assistant linebackers coach before working as a scout last season under general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Vikings Pass Rush Is Question Mark Heading Into 2023 Season
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell (right) greets outside linebacker Marcus Davenport (left) of the Minnesota Vikings before a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks in August 2023.
The Vikings will need some quality coaching if the team hopes to improve its pass rush in 2023.
Minnesota’s defense was able to muster 38 sacks last season, good enough to tie the team for 21st in the NFL, and that was with two Pro Bowlers starting at outside linebacker. Smith is now gone, traded during the offseason to the Browns. Hunter is back in the fold after a months-long contract dispute that resulted in a significant pay raise in 2023, though he is not under contract beyond this year.
The Vikings added Marcus Davenport, formerly of the New Orleans Saints, this offseason. He is slated to start in Smith’s place on the outside. The problem is that Davenport has been wildly inconsistent since joining the NFL. He has recorded 21.5 sacks over his five-year NFL career, including a high of nine sacks in 2021 and a low of 0.5 sacks last season. Despite that, Minnesota agreed to pay the former defensive end $13 million on a one-year contract.
Davenport’s deal, while inarguably lucrative, is on the lower end for high-talent pass-rushers playing beyond their rookie contracts. That his agreement is for only one year is indicative of Adofo-Mensah’s perception of Davenport as a risky proposition.
Edge rusher is among the three or four most important positions on a roster and when a team has a good one who figures to be productive for a while longer, it tries to lock him into a long-term deal. That the Vikings chose not to pursue multiyear deals for either Davenport or Hunter means major changes could be coming to the position group as early as next March.