Departed Vikings Talent Someone Whom Team “Definitely Didn’t Want to Lose”
Departed Vikings coach Brian Angelichio is now working alongside Mike McCarthy with the Steelers. Losing him means seeing the tight end coach spot vacated as Angelichio becomes Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator.
Check out how Alec Lewis of The Athletic described the loss: “Vikings definitely didn’t want to lose Brian Angelichio. Has been one of Kevin O’Connell’s confidants for multiple seasons. Team now needs a TEs coach. Already filled DBs, DL, OL, AHC. Big roles given coaching influence on decisions.”
Departed Vikings Coach Valued in MIN
Consider, as well, how ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler described Minnesota losing the coach.
The insight from Fowler: “Vikings made a strong push to keep Angelichio, a key Kevin O’Connell assistant the last four years. In the end, he becomes a coordinator in Pittsburgh.” Both of Lewis and Fowler bring the central idea to the fore: the desire in the Twin Cities was to keep the coach in town.
If your head is spinning due to all of the coaching shuffling, consider a quick recap:
- Assistant Head Coach Mike Pettine <–> Retired
- DBs Coach Daronte Jones <–> Hired as Washington’s DC
- Safeties Coach Michael Hutchings <–> Hired as a College DC
- O-Line Coach Chris Kuper <–> Fired
- D-Line Coach Marcus Dixon <–> Hired to Coach the Cowboys’ D-Line
- DC Brian Flores <–> Extended as Minnesota’s DC
Note, as well, that Minnesota has made several hires, most notably in Ryan Nielsen.
At the top of the ticket is head coach Kevin O’Connell, someone who is entering his fifth season as the Vikings’ lead skipper. Retaining Flores is a good place to be given the recent success on defense. Matt Daniels is coming back to lead the special teams — pretty quietly, Coach Daniels has been very good — and then OC Wes Phillips has been kept around, as well.
As it relates to leadership among the players, the retirement of fullback C.J. Ham stings. Seeing safety Harrison Smith follow along that same path — into retirement — will mean seeing the roster hollowed out of perhaps the two most respected voices. Guys like RT Brian O’Neill, S Josh Metellus, and others would need to step up even further.
And, of course, there’s the decision to move on from GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Since the news arrived so long after Week 18, Minnesota has opted not to scramble to snag a new hire. Instead, Rob Brzezinski is going to fill-in as the team’s GM (in essence) for the coming months. More clarity should arrive in May in terms of who gets considered for the job on a full-time basis (Brzezinski, George Paton, and Ray Farmer are some names to note).
In other words, the loss of Brian Angelichio arrives as just a touch more turnover from within the brain trust that needs to get addressed.
The Vikings may not be a very good team in 2026, but they’re certainly not a dull team. Stay tuned.
