Former Vikings First Rounder Lands with Commanders’ Coaching Staff
Josh Frey
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The NFL has seen some very significant coaching changes over the past few weeks.
One of those changes was the Washington Commanders opting to move on from Ron Rivera and hire Dan Quinn as their next head coach with help from former Vikings GM Rick Spielman to make that decision. Now, another former Viking is headed to Washington to help as an assistant coach to Quinn.
That man is former Vikings first-round pick Sharrif Floyd, who will be coaching the defensive line for the Commanders.
Former Vikings First Rounder Heads to Commanders
The hiring was reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network on Tuesday night, who tweeted, “The #Commanders are hiring #Cowboys assistant Sharrif Floyd as their assistant DL coach, as the former standout #Vikings DT continues to work his way up. Floyd was with Dan Quinn in Dallas.”
Floyd was selected by the Vikings with the 23rd overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, who happened to be selected by Spielman in his second year with the official title of general manager after serving as the de facto GM from 2006-2011.
The defensive lineman played four seasons in Minnesota, appearing in 44 games and starting 24 of them. In total, he recorded 95 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, four passes defended, and a forced fumble. His best season came during the 2014 season in which he recorded career-highs in tackles (42), tackles for loss (8), and sacks (4.5). However, the Vikings went 7-9 that year and missed out on the playoffs.
Unfortunately, Floyd’s playing career would end under extremely unfortunate circumstances. He played just one game in 2016 because of a torn meniscus that held him out for the remainder of his fourth season, and in March 2017, a nerve issue was revealed following a surgery to repair that injury, and he never played a down of football again.
However, since his playing days, Floyd has begun carving out a role for himself as a coach. The former NFL defensive tackle was hired as the Cowboys’ assistant defensive line coach and held a defensive quality control role during the 2023 season.
Now, though, his former Vikings head coach, Mike Zimmer, has taken on the Cowboys defensive coordinator job, and Floyd opted to follow Quinn to Washington.
Last season, Washington finished with a 4-13 record after trading both Montez Sweat and Chase Young at the deadline back in October. They finished dead last in points allowed, and on average, opponents scored a whopping 30.5 points against the Commanders during 2023.
The Commanders will look to improve that ranking in 2024 with Floyd and Quinn coming aboard.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.