On Saturday, the Minnesota Vikings added another coach to the offensive side of the football, and he’s a semi-familiar face at that.
Correction on job title: senior offensive assistant. His first job in the NFL was with #Vikings (2001). https://t.co/r6B942PAPv
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) February 18, 2018
Per Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio (among other places) is reporting that the Vikings will be adding former Oakland Raiders’ Offensive Coordinator Todd Downing to their staff as a Senior Offensive Assistant. . .whatever that entails.
Downing, a native of Eden Prairie, was an assistant coach at Eden Prairie High School prior to landing a job with the Vikings in 2001. He spent five seasons with the Vikings, serving as a research and development intern, a football systems analyst, and finally as an offensive quality control coach. He then spent a few seasons with the St. Louis Rams before moving on to the Detroit Lions.
With the Lions, Downing spent three years as the team’s quarterbacks coach (2011 - 2013). He then coached quarterbacks for the Buffalo Bills (2014) and the Raiders (2015 - 2016) before being elevated to the Offensive Coordinator job in Oakland before the 2017 season. He was named Pro Football Focus’ Quarterback Coach of the Year in 2015 for the work he did with Derek Carr with the Raiders.
At the age of 37 (38 in July), it’s hard to imagine Downing being a “senior” anything. . .he’s younger than new Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo. . .but that’s where we are. It isn’t totally clear yet what role Downing is going to have with the team, but I’m sure that’s something that will be fleshed out over the next few weeks.
Welcome (back) to Minnesota, Todd Downing!