Vikings Hire Karl Scott as Defensive Backs Coach
On Saturday morning, it was announced that the Minnesota Vikings are hiring Alabama’s former cornerbacks coach, Karl Scott, as their defensive backs coach for the 2021 season. The standout coach was also connected to the University of Maryland’s defensive coordinator position. He has groomed pros including Trevon Diggs and this year’s standout prospect Patrick Surtain II, and he goes into the Vikings organization with considerable success at the collegiate level.
Scott coached at Alabama for three years, from 2018-2020. He went into the job with the task of rebuilding the 2017 National Championship-winning secondary that had five players go pro. In that first year, the Crimson Tide allowed just 22 passing touchdowns while intercepting 15 passes.
This most recent 2020 defense, which also won a national title, allowed just 19.4 points per game. The team ranked 13th in the nation. Opponents also completed just 58.3% of their passes against his defense this year.
Scott has been coaching at the collegiate level since 2012. He has held jobs including defensive coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana, safeties coach at Louisiana Tech, and defensive coordinator at the University of Louisiana.
This hire is huge for a Vikings defense that ranked 27th in total defense, allowing 393.3 yards per game, and 29th in scoring, allowing 29.7 points per game. Details of Scott’s contract have not been released yet.