Vikings Officially Remove Fred Pagac From Defensive Coordinator Position

by Christopher Gates on Jan 15, 2012 3:30 PM CST in Minnesota Vikings 2012 Off-Season

We have no idea who the next defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings is going to be. But, after a few weeks of speculation, we now officially know who it isn't going to be.

Yes, after leaving him dangling for a while, the team has officially removed Fred Pagac from the position of defensive coordinator.

Pagac served as the Vikings' linebackers coach from 2006 to 2010, and was promoted to the DC job late in 2010 when Leslie Frazier became the interim head coach following Brad Childress' firing.

According to the report linked above, the team has offered to allow Pagac to go back to coaching the linebackers if he wants to. The job of linebackers coach is currently held by Mike Singletary. Now, I'm not a personnel guru or anything like that, but that seems to spell out to me that the team might be moving towards simply flipping Singletary and Pagac, with Singletary. . .who is Frazier's Close, Personal Friend (™ Sid Hartman). . .moving into the defensive coordinator's chair.

I won't make any comments on that possibilty at the moment. . .I'll simply leave it to you all. Have at it.

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I just put up a fanpost about another candidate who has been linked to our DC job

"At this point, what we got to lose, right? So we might as well throw caution to the wind and hit people in the face."
--Vikings DE Jared Allen

by NMVike on Jan 15, 2012 3:36 PM CST reply actions

Raiders want Bowles too, it seems...

by PurpleX on Jan 15, 2012 3:38 PM CST up reply actions

yup

Thats the focus of La Confora’s report. Seems like an interesting candidate.

"At this point, what we got to lose, right? So we might as well throw caution to the wind and hit people in the face."
--Vikings DE Jared Allen

by NMVike on Jan 15, 2012 3:41 PM CST up reply actions

This is a big load of cronie crap

Frazier wants a puppet as DC. Well, I think he ought to just tell Spielman to demote him to DC and find another head coach. But that isn’t going to happen, so Spielman should just fire him or tell him he can accept a demotion to DC or be fired. The cronie system rarely works and more often then not breeds dysfunction.

by Are we cursed? on Jan 15, 2012 3:37 PM CST reply actions

I for one.....

am dubious when Frazier backs those who are “close, personal friends.” McNabb fell into that category as well. I don’t think that should be a criteria for promotion to critical postions on a football team. Best man at your wedding, or someone borrowing your car maybe, but not this.

by Mel Allen on Jan 15, 2012 3:37 PM CST reply actions

Granted, a head coach has a lot of coaches to evaluate & can't always get it right

But Frazier is not looking too successful on his picks right now…

by liveforadrenaline on Jan 15, 2012 3:40 PM CST reply actions

On the flip side it may mean singletary is out the door

Because hopefully Pagac takes back the LB Coach job so MS doesn’t have that to come back to and if Frazier takes his job and coaching career seriously; he will NOT hire MS as DC!

by nmvikesfan on Jan 15, 2012 4:04 PM CST reply actions

Please god no Singletary.

by Jepp The Viking on Jan 15, 2012 4:29 PM CST reply actions

He is

who we thought he was.

by mg7505 on Jan 15, 2012 5:01 PM CST up reply actions

that's why we took the damn field

"You can write articles and do whatever you want, you can break down every player. Good, bad or ugly. But we just aren't good enough as a team, as a group. Offensively, defensively and special teams, from the No. 1 on the roster to the last man on the roster. We just aren't good enough. It's as simple as that." - Chad Greenway

by Grape Drank on Jan 15, 2012 8:27 PM CST up reply actions

If you wanna crown them,

Then CROWN THEIR ASSES!

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by Christopher Gates on Jan 15, 2012 8:58 PM CST up reply actions

It won't be Singletary

Singletary will just be a defensive assistant and assistant head coach. He’s not strong enough in x’s and o’s to be a coordinator. It’d be a total disaster, and Frazier knows it. Pagac is a better LB’s coach than Singletary so I’m on board with this decision.

by Cobra312004 on Jan 15, 2012 5:25 PM CST reply actions

if everything you suggest is true

Then he just needs to be fired.

"At this point, what we got to lose, right? So we might as well throw caution to the wind and hit people in the face."
--Vikings DE Jared Allen

by NMVike on Jan 15, 2012 5:36 PM CST up reply actions

New blood

I want someone new and fresh not someone else’s retread. I don’t have a name in mind, just a profile.

Btw – maybe Pagac can catch on with the packers. Their defense Sucks too!!

by Torstein on Jan 15, 2012 5:45 PM CST via mobile reply actions

If they do that, then I'm going to be really upset

I would think it would be tough for a guy who was the DC stay on staff in a demoted role, and work under a guy that was essentially his subordinate.

That also appears to be favoritism and cronyism, and after the unsettling things about Singletary’s work ethic going around, I’ll be very bothered by it.

"Go hard. I mean, like relentless. I want a bunch of coaches that coach like their hair’s on fire, and I want a football team that goes for four to six seconds (per play) with relentless effort." OSU Coach Urban Meyer.

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by Ted Glover on Jan 15, 2012 5:54 PM CST reply actions

That is the biggest problem Ihave with MS.

Are those rumors verified?

The NDSU Bison rock.

by berserkerND on Jan 15, 2012 7:22 PM CST up reply actions

Well, it was reported by Pelissero at ESPN 1500

Anyone else and I would say it’s got a good chance of being questionable or dubious. But Pelissero’s work is straight up solid. I take him at face value until he is proven wrong.

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by Ted Glover on Jan 15, 2012 8:55 PM CST up reply actions

This game of kick the goat is embarrassing.

I recognize that from the perspective of the national media spotlight the team’s current level of fustercluckedness does not compare to the Loveboat era or Favrepalooza, but I personally cannot recall every feeling that the team was more of a joke than it is now.

I was only thirteen back when there were calls for less Steckel, so perhaps that’s a benchmark I can’t appreciate. Right now, I’m in the mood for less Frazier. What a disappointment this guy is turning out to be.

by Redking on Jan 15, 2012 6:29 PM CST reply actions

I'm in no mood to be circling the drain with the Vikings

Since Wilf is not a football guy, he needs to find a real football wiz to run his organization.

by liveforadrenaline on Jan 15, 2012 7:15 PM CST up reply actions

Amen to that.

Has the guy made a single good decision yet? This organization is running extremely low on positives lately.

by Bodysuit Man on Jan 15, 2012 7:27 PM CST up reply actions

I watched Pugac when he was Ohio State's d coordinator

and i can’t believe he wanted to call this cover 2 crap all the time. he was very aggressive and had a very exciting defense. I have to think that Frazier wanted the defense to be conservative because that’s the way he always called it. I always thought he was mediocre as a coordinator, now he sucks as a head coach.

by scottfromcmh on Jan 15, 2012 6:52 PM CST reply actions

I rememeber seeing somewhere

That Pagac wanted to do a lot more Cover 1 and blitzing packages but Frazier held him back. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but if it is Frazier needs to back off and let his coordinators do their jobs and worry about the big picture.

by Amrius on Jan 15, 2012 7:36 PM CST up reply actions

It could be

That Fraser recognizes his personnel lack the ability to play man and blitz.

by Lars in SLP on Jan 15, 2012 8:12 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

could be, but doubtful

more likely, Frazier wants the scheme that he himself installed at the DC position to stick around….after all, no one was saying how the defense sucked in 2008, 2009, 2010…right?

by Chris3 on Jan 16, 2012 7:20 AM CST up reply actions

Maybe this indicates

That the Vikes are close to signing a DC. Would be nice to have it done before they go coach the college kids.

by Lars in SLP on Jan 15, 2012 8:09 PM CST via mobile reply actions

Oh, my God

Please, please, please, please don’t let Singletary be our new DC. His past work ethics as linebackers coach were reportedly horrible. And we don’t need that for a position as important as DC.

"Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction." - Old Cowboy proverb.

by TexVike55 on Jan 15, 2012 9:14 PM CST reply actions

Does ANYONE want Singletary as our DC?

Seriously, he would be my last choice and I think he should have already been shown the door. His grasp of the X’s and O’s is rudimentary at best. He was a joke as the Niners HC despite all the talent on that team built up through years and years of high draft picks. Look at where they are now once they got rid of him.

by Zapf on Jan 16, 2012 12:55 PM CST reply actions