Vikings name Andre Patterson, Adam Zimmer co-Defensive Coordinators

On Monday afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings finalized all of their coaching changes for the offseason, and the defensive side of the ball is going to have a bit of a different look with the departure of George Edwards.

The team has announced that defensive line coach Andre Patterson and linebackers coach Adam Zimmer will serve as co-Defensive Coordinators for the team in 2020. This means that they will both continue to work with their respective position groups as well.

Patterson has long been lauded for his work with Minnesota’s defensive linemen since joining Zimmer in Minnesota in 2014. This is actually his second stint with the Vikings, as he also coached defensive linemen in Minnesota in 1998 and 1999. When the word came out that George Edwards would not be returning, I think Patterson was the first name that came to mind for a lot of people, and now he’ll be getting a chance as a defensive coordinator for the first time at the NFL level. He’s held that title for several college teams, most recently for Texas-El Paso from 2010 to 2012.

Like his father, Adam Zimmer also came to the Vikings in 2014. Previously, he had three different NFL stops as a defensive backs coach, but he’s been the linebackers coach since becoming a member of the Minnesota staff. He also got a bit of a unique experience in 2018 when he was named one of the head coaches for the annual collegiate East-West Shrine Game. This will be his first experience as a defensive coordinator.

It hasn’t really been clarified how the two coaches will split game-day duties, but hopefully there will be some clarification coming in the days and weeks to come.

Some of the other coaching changes the Vikings announced on Monday:

• Assistant offensive line coach Andrew Janocko is moving to coaching wide receivers, replacing Drew Petzing, who has joined Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland.
• Former Bengals and Dolphins coach Daronte Jones has been hired as the defensive backs coach, replacing Jerry Gray.
• Former Redskins and Broncos coach Phil Rauscher has been hired as an assistant offensive line coach.

So, the Vikings’ coaching staff for the upcoming season is set, folks. What are your thoughts on the Defensive Coordinator arrangement and the other moves that have been made?