Changing offensive coordinators during the regular season smacks of desperation but can be as effective as laser surgery.
When Vikings coach Mike Zimmer fired offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, the move may have felt like scapegoating. It may even have felt personal. That doesn't mean it won't work.
In his first game as an offensive coordinator, Kevin Stefanski guided the offense to a season-best 41-point performance and a victory. There are precedents for this kind of success, and this change occurs at a fascinating juncture of the 2018 season. While the NFL's best offenses are hitting speed bumps, the Vikings may be pulling into the left lane.
As the Vikings prepare to play the Lions in Detroit on Sunday, the history of both franchises offers reason to believe Stefanski could wind up being one of the Vikings' most valuable employees.
When Denny Green became the Vikings' head coach in 1992, he built one of the great coaching staffs in league history. He hired Tony Dungy, Monte Kiffin, Willie Shaw, Ty Willingham, Tom Moore, Tom Batta, John Michels, Brian Billick and John Teerlink. He also hired Jack Burns from Washington to be his offensive coordinator.
Green hired Burns to teach him Joe Gibbs' offense but when the Vikings began the '93 season by scoring 17 points over two games, Green fired him and promoted Billick, his tight ends coach, to run the offense.
The results weren't spectacular, but the Vikings offense improved and the team made the playoffs, losing in the first round to the Giants. Billick would go on to become a renowned coordinator and would win a Super Bowl as head coach of the Ravens.
This is where the connections get interesting, in light of Sunday's matchup. In 2012, the Ravens were 9-2, then lost two straight. Head coach John Harbaugh fired Cam Cameron and promoted Jim Caldwell to offensive coordinator.