:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62970122/913039196.jpg.0.jpg)
It sounds like another member of the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff may be on his way out.
Terence Newman has a chance to return to the #Vikings coaching staff, but may choose to walk away, I hear -- coaching is a grind. His exact choice will become more clear as we get into February. Good catch by @Proudhorn to note that Newman is no longer listed on the team website.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) January 30, 2019
Darren Wolfson of KSTP in Minneapolis is hearing rumblings that Terence Newman may not return to Mike Zimmer’s staff in 2019. As is noted in his tweet, Newman is no longer listed on the team’s website as a coach.
Newman, who would have been the oldest defensive player in the NFL had he gone into the 2018 season with the team, instead announced his retirement from the league on cutdown day just before the start of the season. When the announcement of his retirement came out, so came the word that he was being added to the Vikings’ coaching staff to help with the defensive backs.
The Vikings’ defensive backfield is among the league’s best, and several players made significant jumps during the course of the season, most notably Holton Hill and Mackensie Alexander. I’m not sure how much, if any, of that can be attributed to Newman’s presence on the coaching staff, but I don’t think he would have hindered things in any meaningful way.
Given that the Vikings are still looking to fill several vacancies on the coaching staff, this is just another potential spot for Mike Zimmer to fill.
(Kudos to The Viking Age, who got to this one before we did.)