Minnesota Vikings News and Links, 12/17

We are officially finished with Week 15 of the 2013 NFL season, which means we can finish on the second-to-last game for the Minnesota Vikings this year. They will be playing their final road game of the season, as they travel to the Queen City to take on the Cincinnati Bengals. We'll have plenty on that game going forward.

Since the last time we brought you an Open Thread. . .

-Ted passed along the news that the Vikings' coaching search may have started already, as they have apparently reached out to Bill O'Brien, currently the head coach at Penn State University.

-The Minnesota Vikings are no longer eligible for the #1 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

-We took a look at whether or not receiver Cordarrelle Patterson has a realistic shot at being the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

-There will apparently be MOAR RICKSPEAK in 2014, according to reports.

-The team has also decided that Matt Cassel will start the last two games of the year.

-CCNorseman examines what the Minnesota Vikings need in their next head coach.

From some other outposts around the internet. . .

-Chip Kelly, the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, defended his team's strategy of kicking away from Patterson in Sunday's game.

-According to ESPN's Ben Goessling, the durability of cornerback Chris Cook is again an issue.

-The Vikings shuffled their roster again, waiving running back Joe Banyard and re-signing tackle Mike Remmers.

-Minnesota apparently told San Diego Chargers rookie receiver Keenan Allen that they promised he'd be a first-round pick. The Chargers took Allen in Round 3.

The rules of the Open Thread are the same as they've ever been, ladies and gentlemen. . .no politics, no religion, no feeding of the trolls, and keep the bad language to a minimum and/or use the spoiler tags if you feel that you absolutely must curse.

Here's your video selection for the day.

With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open for this Tuesday, everybody! Enjoy the rest of your day, and there will be ore for your reading pleasure throughout the rest of the morning and afternoon.