The Minnesota Vikings’ Search for a New Defensive Coordinator: Is Ejiro Evero the Top Candidate?

By | Niranjan Bhargav 3 Feb, 2023

The sluggish pace of the search for a defensive coordinator for the Vikings has a significant explanation

The Minnesota Vikings’ season ended much earlier than expected this year. Despite winning 13 games and earning the NFC North championship, their defense was picked apart in the Wild Card Round by New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, leading to a 31-24 loss. This resulted in the Vikings’ defensive coordinator Ed Donatell getting fired. The Vikings have since been on the hunt for a new defensive coordinator to strengthen their defense, but their search has taken much longer than anticipated.

Reasons Behind the Slow Search

Despite interviewing just four candidates, the Vikings have not yet made a decision on who to hire as their new defensive coordinator. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reports that the Vikings are waiting to see if they can secure an interview with Denver Broncos’ Ejiro Evero. The reason for the wait is that Evero is a head coaching candidate for the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts. Both teams have yet to make an official decision on their hire, and the Vikings are waiting to see if Evero will be available.

The reason the Vikings' search for a defensive coordinator has been quiet lately is that, per sources, they're waiting to see if they can get an interview with the Denver Broncos' Ejiro Evero. At the moment, he's a candidate for the head coach job in Indianapolis and Arizona.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) February 1, 2023

Ejiro Evero: The Top Candidate?

Ejiro Evero was part of the Los Angeles Rams’ coaching staff alongside current Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell from 2020 to 2021. Evero was a safeties coach and passing game coordinator, while O’Connell was the offensive coordinator. This past season, Evero was the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos and was able to lead the defense to shine despite the poor performance of the offense. The Denver defense was amongst the best in the NFL, allowing an average of only 320.0 yards per game (7th lowest) and 21.1 points per game (tied for 13th lowest).

Evero has also interviewed for head coaching positions with the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Broncos this offseason. If Evero does not end up with one of the two remaining head coaching jobs, the Vikings will try to secure an interview with him for their defensive coordinator opening.

The Vikings have done 4 formal DC interviews to this point: Ryan Nielsen, Sean Desai, Mike Pettine and Brian Flores. Nielsen took the DC job in Atlanta. Flores remains a HC candidate in Arizona.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) February 1, 2023

Other Candidates Interviewed

In addition to waiting for an opportunity to interview Ejiro Evero, the Minnesota Vikings have considered other prospects for their defensive coordinator position, including Mike Pettine, who is their assistant head coach, Brian Flores, who was previously the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Sean Desai, who is the associate head coach of the Seattle Seahawks; and Ryan Neilsen who was a co-defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. Flores is also a candidate for Arizona’s head coaching job, and Neilsen has since accepted the defensive coordinator position with the Atlanta Falcons.

Conclusion

The Minnesota Vikings’ search for a new defensive coordinator has taken longer than expected, but for a good reason. They are waiting to see if they can secure an interview with Ejiro Evero, who has been part of Kevin O’Connell’s coaching staff and has also led the Denver Broncos’ defense to success this past season. Evero is also a head coaching candidate for the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts, and the Vikings are waiting to see if he will be available. The Vikings have also interviewed several other strong candidates, and it will be interesting to see who they ultimately choose to lead their defense.

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