The Vikings offered Mike Priefer a new contract

It would be inaccurate to say that the Minnesota Vikings fired Mike Priefer from his job as the team’s Special Teams Coach. Priefer’s contract expired this past Tuesday, much like Kevin Stefanski’s deal did. However, rather than accept a new deal in Minnesota, Priefer chose to take his services to a new team instead.

Shortly after it was reported that Priefer would not be returning to Minnesota, the announcement came down that he was accepting the same job with the Cleveland Browns. The Vikings did offer him a contract, and he reportedly had interest from several other teams, but he made the decision to move on.

It’s not entirely surprising to see Priefer make this move. He’s an Ohio native, and grew up cheering for the Browns. His father was a long-time coach in Parma, Ohio, which is just west of Cleveland, and also worked as a coach at Miami of Ohio.

There still hasn’t been any word to this point as to who the Vikings might be looking at to take Priefer’s spot on Mike Zimmer’s coaching staff. I’m not sure if we’ll hear any movement on that front (or on the offensive line coach front) over the weekend, but if we hear anything we’ll have it here for you straight away.