KVRR Local News
Spent two years in the position
January 5, 2021
MINNEAPOLIS The Minnesota Vikings are making a change..Head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf’s contract will be not be renewed.
The unit struggled all season finishing 21st in the league. Out of 32 teams, the Vikes were 30th in field goal percentage , 31st in field goals made, 29th in punt return yards allowed, 30th in punt return yards and 43.5 yards per punt averaged was third worst.
Maalouf held the position since 2018 who took over when Mike Priefer left for Cleveland.
Souhan; Timberwolves Not Getting Much From Rubio [PODCAST]
The Timberwolves lost their 5th straight game Tuesday night in Denver 123-116. Star Tribune Sports Columnist Jim Souhan joined me on WJON today. He says they did see some positives including a solid offensive game from D Angelo Russell and from forward Juancho Hernangomez and energy off the bench from Jared Vanderbilt. Jim says Vanderbilt should move into the starting lineup until Karl-Anthony Towns is back. He says the Wolves aren t great about revealing injury situations but he estimates that Towns could be back within about 3 weeks. He says Josh Okogie could be back Thursday night at Portland. Ricky Rubio struggled offensively and defensively in the last night s game. Jim says Rubio needs to give them more that what he is right now.
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The Vikings will play their final game in Detroit on Sunday, ending this season 358 days, 2,421 miles and a figurative expanse away from where they concluded their last one.
A season that began with talk of building on a trip to the NFC divisional playoffs and bold pronouncements about staying in contention after a defensive overhaul instead will end with an inconsequential finale. The Vikings found even their best-laid plans could not overcome the most mundane football realities (injuries and inexperience) and a novel one (a global pandemic that wiped out on-field practice time before the season).
They are 6-9 heading into the game against the Lions, assured of their first losing record since 2014 and a third-place finish in a division they last won in 2017. The path from the playoffs in 2019 to also-ran status in 2020 has been marked with cornerback switches, coronavirus tests, rookie headliners, mysterious injuries and a brief playoff fli
Evaluating Mike Zimmer
Following the evaluation of Vikings’ GM Rick Spielman, let’s move on to head coach Mike Zimmer and the job he’s done this year for the Vikings.
As an NFL head coach, Mike Zimmer is responsible for every aspect of planning, analyzing, coaching, preparing and motivating his team to perform at their best each and every game. Nobody can do all that himself, so it’s up to the head coach (and GM) to hire a staff to help in all these tasks, directing them himself and being the focal point for decision-making.
The head coach is involved in every aspect of game planning, oppo research, team and player evaluation, coaching, practice schedules, media relations, scouting, schemes, play-calling, and game management. Often head coaches rely on trusted staff to complete many of these tasks and then report to them with their plan, problems, etc. for the head coach to pass judgment on. It’s also more common these days for an offensive or defensive head coach,
This Is the Vikings Biggest Problem in 2020
3 3 minutes read
Finger-pointing at the 2020 Minnesota Vikings veers in the direction of Kirk Cousins, playcalling, “running the ball too much,” or field-goal kicking. Cousins is Pro Football Focus’ ninth-highest graded quarterback in 2020. So, that grievance is largely bogus. On playcalling and frequency of the run, Minnesota ranks sixth in the business in yards gained per game and fifth in redzone efficiency. That talking point, too, is misguided. As for field-goal kicking, it is valid criticism. The Vikings have converted 70% of field goals – third-worst in the NFL. A decision on the fate of Dan Bailey this offseason is imminent and will reverberate through the team’s special teams plans. It is also unlikely that special teams coordinator, Marwan Maalouf, will be part of the team’s 2021 plans.