Minnesota Vikings: An open letter to John DeFilippo

Dear Johnny,

I know we don’t know each other, but I hope you don’t mind me calling you Johnny.

As a fan of football, and as a fan of seeing younger players progress well— I have a ton of respect for what you did with Carson Wentz and Nick Foles (when Philly needed him the most) while with the Eagles. I was a big fan of you becoming the OC of the Minnesota Vikings, especially when the Vikings landed Kirk Cousins, it only made sense because of your previous success with QBs.

Hell, even when you were the OC in Cleveland you still managed to make that a top-ten, maybe even a top-five offense in 2015 (sorry the defense was trash). You seemed to carry that same mojo over to Minnesota when you left Philly, well it seemed like you were going to. What the hell happened?

I don’t consider myself to be a “football analyst” by any means. However, I do get mind boggled when a play on 4th & 11 results in a bubble pass for a few yards, I just don’t get it. Some may say that the offensive line is banged up, so maybe you’re trying to call plays that result in getting the ball off quicker, that’s fine. But why wouldn’t you have Cousins run quick slants to receivers who are already heading up field instead of someone swinging off to the side of Cousins five yards behind the line of scrimmage? I really would love to know the answer to that.

(I got my plays mixed up and found out a slant was indeed ran on that 4th & 11 instead of the bubble pass. That was my fault, but I think the point is still pretty clear).

I could continue on and on, week by week, but I can’t do that to ya, Johnny. I do want to bring up one point that needs to be addressed and I think everyone really wants to know— why don’t you run the ball more? Is Cousins audibling out of run plays or are the plays designed pass plays from the get-go? Because if you’re originally calling run plays and Cousins is audibling to pass plays, then that’s a different story.

Regardless, Dalvin Cook averaged 9.1 yards per carry and only rushed the ball nine times, but managed 81 yards. I can’t help but do the classic face slap with my hand every time I think about that, that was a hey day waiting to happen for Cook. He would have managed 6.5 YPC even without Cook’s longest run of 32 yards, but let’s just pass the rock.

By no means am I asking for you to get canned, because on a personal level, losing a job is no Bueno. I’m writing this letter because I care, if I didn’t care about the team’s success then I wouldn’t even be writing for the Daily Norseman, or even giving myself the time to write this.

The season can be salvaged, your crew can still fight for a playoff spot. Good thing your Eagle buddies beat Washington on Monday night to help with hopes of making the postseason. I just want you to really think about using your offensive weapons effectively. You’re not a quarterback coach anymore, you’re an offensive coordinator.

I thought you were head coach ready, but I think you still need some time to focus on the fundamentals. Again, I respect the hell out of you for your coaching accomplishments so far, and know what you’re capable of. I wanna see the Johnny that gave the Browns’ offense hope in 2015. I really wish the best of luck to you on the remainder of the season. Don’t get yourself into something you can’t handle.

Sincerely,

A passionate, yet critical Vikings fan