Full house: How the Vikings' new coaching staff shapes up under Kevin O'Connell
After decades of growth, the group this year runs 29 deep, positioning it among the largest in the NFL.
Over the years, TV revenue, attendance and player contracts are not the only areas to grow as the NFL has grown in popularity. So have coaching staffs. Bud Grant's group in the 1960s could fit in a van. Now most coaching staffs surpass two dozen people, and the Vikings in 2022 under Kevin O'Connell are up to 29. Who makes up the new coaching staff for the Vikings? Where did they come from? How does it stack up against the rest of the league? Here's a brief introduction:
Kevin O'Connell
Head coach
Won Super Bowl as Rams offensive coordinator in 2021; spent two years in Los Angeles (2020-21), three in Washington (2017-19), one in San Francisco (2016) and one in Cleveland (2015).
Mike Pettine
Assistant head coach
Former Browns head coach (2014-15) and defensive coordinator for the Jets (2009-12), Bills (2013) and Packers (2018-20).
Ed Donatell
Defensive coordinator
Has 31 years of NFL experience; won Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998 with the Broncos.
Wes Phillips
Offensive coordinator
Passing game coordinator for Rams in 2021; coached tight ends 2013-21.
Matt Daniels
Special teams coordinator
Spent past two seasons as assistant special teams coordinator in Dallas.
Offense
Brian Angelichio
Tight ends/passing game coordinator
Worked in Green Bay from 2016-18; spent 2019 with Washington and 2020-21 with Carolina.
Ryan Cordell
Passing game specialist
Worked as assistant in Cleveland (2019-21) and across departments in San Francisco (2014-18).
Jerrod Johnson
Assistant quarterbacks coach
Former Diversity Coaching Fellow in Indianapolis and San Francisco.
Chris Kuper
Offensive line coach
Played collegiately at North Dakota; worked under Mike Munchak in Denver from 2019-21.
Keenan McCardell
Wide receivers coach
Back for a second season after stints in Washington and Jacksonville; 17-year NFL player.
Curtis Modkins
Running game coordinator
Has coached running backs for five NFL teams, most recently Denver (2018-21), and was offensive coordinator for two: Buffalo (2010-12) and San Francisco (2016).
Derron Montgomery
Quality control
First season in NFL; Arizona, Georgia and Michigan are among his college coaching stops.
Chris O'Hara
Quarterbacks coach
Worked with O'Connell in Washington 2017-19 and with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.
Justin Rascati
Assistant offensive line coach
On staff with Kuper in Denver from 2019-21; played quarterback at James Madison.
Tony Sorrentino
Assistant wide receivers coach
Spent 2019-21 at Northern Illinois; four seasons in NFL with the Jaguars (2013-16).
Defense
Roy Anderson
Assistant defensive backs coach/safeties coach
16 years of NFL experience, past two with Vikings; also coached in Chicago, Indianapolis and Baltimore.
Steve Donatell
Quality control
Son of defensive coordinator; first NFL coaching job; was defensive analyst with Stanford from 2019-21.
Daronte Jones
Defensive backs coach
Returns to coaching staff after a season at LSU; spent 2020 with Vikings.
Greg Manusky
Inside linebackers coach
Former Vikings linebacker (1991-93) has 32 years of NFL experience; spent 2020-21 at Kentucky.
Chris Rumph
Defensive line coach
Spent 18 seasons at Division I college level and past two seasons in NFL, at Chicago last season and Houston in 2020.
Sam Siefkes
Assistant linebackers coach
Worked as quality control coach for Vikings in 2021; former grad assistant at Wisconsin and also coached at UW-La Crosse, his alma mater, and UW-Platteville.
Mike Smith
Outside linebackers coach/pass rush specialist
Worked with Pettine in Green Bay (2019-20), where he coached new Viking Za'Darius Smith; spent three seasons in Kansas City.
A'Lique Terry
Assistant defensive line coach
First NFL season; served as assistant at Hawaii and Oregon. Played offensive line at Wake Forest.
Special teams
Ben Kotwica
Assistant coach
First season with Vikings; 15 years of NFL experience, two as coordinator in Atlanta, 2019-20; former Army helicopter pilot.
Special projects
Grant Udinski
Assistant to head coach
Assisted in Carolina (2020-21); former Academic All-America and defensive end at Towson.
Strength and conditioning
Josh Hingst
Director of player performance
In year two with Vikings after serving in same role in Philadelphia 2013-20.
Marquis Johnson
Assistant player performance
In second season with Vikings; worked in San Francisco from 2017-18.
Derik Keyes
Assistant director of player performance
Enters fifth season with Vikings, the longest tenure on staff.
Dan Ridenour
Sports science coordinator
Was assistant director of Nebraska's Athletics Performance Lab focused on health, training, rehab, tech and training integration in 2021.
Where the Vikings rank
The sizes of NFL coaching staffs vary, as do the roles of the coaches. Here's a look at 2022 NFL coaching staff sizes, as listed in team media guides and commonly including specialists in the areas of operations, strength, conditioning and performance.
NFC average: 26.1 coaches
AFC average: 25.7 coaches
On the rise
Evolution of sizes of Vikings coaching staffs:
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.