Two Former Vikings Endorse Darrell Bevell

While there haven't been a lot of new developments in the search for a new head coach for the Minnesota Vikings thus far, at least one candidate has gotten endorsements from a couple of players that were in Minnesota when he served as the offensive coordinator for the purple and gold.

Former Vikings' offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell received two pretty solid endorsements from former members of the team on Friday. The first came from quarterback Gus Frerotte, who was Minnesota's quarterback for most of the 2008 season, thinks that Bevell would be an good choice for the job.

"He loves the game, he's a good play caller and he's very precise and he's very detail-oriented,'' said Frerotte, who last played in 2008 after a 15-year NFL career. "He gets along with the players well. I'm sure he would do everything in his power to be the best coach he can be.''

A much stronger endorsement came from someone that Bevell, admittedly, did not directly coach. Former Vikings safety Darren Sharper went on the Reusse and Mackey Show on 1500 ESPN, and expressed that Bevell would be a good choice as well. He even went so far as to say that the Vikings' offensive woes from 2006 to 2008, the first three seasons of Bevell's tenure as the team's offensive coordinator, fell more on head coach Brad Childress than on Bevell.

Mackey: Before we let you go, I want to ask you about the Vikings. There's a handful head coaching openings still open. Washington is open, the Browns are still open, the Vikings obviously. We've heard four names for sure thrown out as likely to be interviewed here in the next few days, maybe a fifth or a sixth, too. But we've heard Darrell Bevell's name thrown out there, and we've also heard Jack Del Rio, Adam Gase, the offensive coordinator in Denver who's in his mid-30s and Dan Quinn, defensive coordinator from Seattle. You worked with Bevell a little bit, even though he was the offensive coordinator when you were around in the Childress era. Can you tell us anything about any of those guys? Bevell, Jack Del Rio?

Sharper: First and foremost, I would definitely support Darrell Bevell being the head coach. Playing with him, as far as coaches in Minnesota, he just has a great mind for being an offensive coordinator and also has the persona and the personality that really bodes well for a head coach. And you just look at what he has learned from being underneath Pete Carroll and working with him. You can tell that the players love playing for Pete Carroll, you can tell by the energy that they play with. Coming from a winning organization, he knows how to address things in a proper way and in a professional way. His pedigree is just perfect for a head coach, and I'm a supporter of Darrell Bevell if he has a chance to get that job. And I'm sure that once he goes into Minnesota and interviews, he'll come out with high remarks and probably be leading that candidate list.

Mackey: You know, it's funny. . .on Twitter people take things the wrong way, but earlier this week when Bevell's name was floated out there, I said, you know he's worked with Russell Wilson, third-round pick, you know give credit to Wilson, too. It's a great culture in Seattle. . .Bevell probably got too much flak for bad offenses with bad quarterbacks and. . .

Sharper: That wasn't him. That wasn't him.

(You can hear the Sharper interview in its entirety at the link above. . .it's in the sidebar on the right-hand side of the page. The transcript might not be 100% exact, either, but it's pretty close.)

Whether Darrell Bevell becomes the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings or not remains to be seen. But at least a couple of his former players seem to be behind the idea.