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Mike Priefer will not return as Minnesota Vikings Special Teams Coach

Another vacancy on the Minnesota sideline

Chicago Bears v Minnesota Vikings Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

While the Minnesota Vikings are searching for an offensive line coach, they now have another vacancy on their sideline to deal with.

Numerous sources on social media are reporting that Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer will not return to the Vikings for the 2019 season.

Priefer has been the Vikings’ Special Teams Coach since 2011. During that time, he’s coached a couple of the better return artists in team history in Cordarrelle Patterson and Marcus Sherels (and, briefly, Percy Harvin). Some of the other parts of the special teams have had their issues, though, most notably the kicking game where missed field goals and extra points have been a regular occurrence. Priefer also served as interim head coach for a 2016 game against the Dallas Cowboys following one of Mike Zimmer’s eye surgeries.

The thing that Priefer is best known for. . .outside of Minnesota, anyway. . .were the homophobic remarks that he made in a Vikings’ special teams meeting back in 2013. Those comments drew the ire of then-punter Chris Kluwe, and eventually led to Priefer being suspended for three games in 2014.

Obviously, there is no word yet on who could potentially be tapped to take Priefer’s place on the Vikings’ sidelines, but as soon as we start hearing names or anything of that nature we will bring them to you here.