Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Vikings Head Coach

Good to get back and visit with you guys. We’ve had a good spring. I feel like we’ve got a lot of work done. We’ve changed some of thing things, how we’ve done some of the practices and some of the OTAs, but I feel like we’ve done a nice job. We’ve done a lot of work on special teams, offense and defense. Looking forward to the last couple of days. Everybody seems to be in a good place. So we’re excited to finish up these two days and then move forward.

Q: When you look at the additions that you’ve made to your team, do you feel you have the right mix now between the veteran players and the young players? A: I feel like we’ve added a lot of good players. You know, offensively was more with the draft and then on defense and special teams was more on free agency. But our guys in the front office have done an outstanding job. It’s probably going to look completely different on the defensive side of the ball than it did last year with the guys coming back and the additions that we made. I am excited about that.

Q: How important was it this week to have back at the facility under a reworked contract? How beneficial is it that it’s not hanging over your heads as a potential distraction entering training camp? A: Danielle [Hunter] is a big part of our football team. He’s a great kid, loves to work, loves to come out to practice. The guys were excited to see him yesterday. It’s just one of those things that we’ve been very, very fortunate that the guys on this team want to come back. The same thing with guys like Sheldon [Richardson] and Mackensie [Alexander] and a lot of these guys that have gone away and came back. It’s big for our players in the locker room and we’re excited to get Danielle back.

Q: Is the message with Danielle where he has to come back and prove he’s healthy and it will all going to pay off in 2022 and beyond? What is the way that you approached it? Are both sides operating in good faith with each other? A: Honestly, I didn’t look at it that way. I let the front office handle all that. I know he wants to play football. I saw him for the first time a couple days ago and he came up and gave me a big hug. So, it’s really hard to say. We weren’t sure that he was healthy until he came in and did his physical. He looks fantastic and he should be ready to go. All the other stuff, the money part and the contract and all that, it’s out of my paygrade.

Q: When it comes to a veteran like , how do you let him play to his strengths that he has and also coach the techniques that you want as well? A: I did a lot of things with Patrick [Peterson] when he got here. I had him come to my office and sit down. A lot of these guys that are eight-year Pro-bowl players and things like that, they really don’t want to be coached. One of the things I did, called him in and asked him, ‘Tell me about you. What do you like to do? How do you like to do it? Do you want to be coached? I think I can help you in these areas.’ He was like ‘Coach, I want to be coached. I want to get back playing really good.’ He’s done a great job this spring. I’ve been really excited about the things that he’s trying to do, that we’re trying to teach him and actually, some of the things he’s done. Just really trying to give him more tools in the toolbox and get him to understand the concepts and where we can help him as well.

Q: How important was it for you to get that group back up to the level of what you’re used to with having , Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, and all these guys kind of jumping into the fold now? What kind of role do you envision with Sheldon Richardson here? A: It’s really early right now to talk too much about roles. We anticipate that he’s going to be the pass rushing guy in there. Not that Davlin [Tomlinson] and Michael [Pierce] can’t do that, but that’s kind of where we see him being worked in. As far as the defensive line, you can never have too many of those guys either. We’re fortunate that we drafted a couple of young guys who look like they have some potential maybe down the road a little bit. Then, you’ve got [D.J.] Wonnum, who came back and changed his body. He looks really good. [Stephen] Weatherly’s back. Just trying to think of some of the other guys. . We’ve got a lot of players there that have potential to be really good players. I think the more you can add to the mix, the better off we are. It’ll be a great competition in camp with the guys that we’ve added.

Q: With Harrison Smith and all these new faces around him, how much does that change his role in terms of having to adjust to new guys and getting used to them? What kind of a factor is he, when he’s the guy that’s been around and with you the longest and knows how you want things done? A: Harrison [Smith] is one of those guys that really doesn’t change the way that he does things very much. Xavier Woods, I’ve been really impressed with him up to this point. Those two guys working together have done a really good job. Harrison, other than trying to maybe talk to some of the guys about how we do things, he really doesn’t change much. He’s pretty much going to do what he does and then obviously he’s been a terrific football player for us. Probably even more important, he’s been a terrific player in the locker room and a great Viking.

Q: From a defensive perspective is it tougher to go against bigger offensive linemen or what challenges to athletic offensive linemen present? What is the difference between those two styles up front? A: When you have a little more power and a little more size, it’s harder to get around guys in pass rush especially. They all have to be athletic. They all have to be smart. They always have to work together, and that’s big for that group. I think it’s important that we protect Kirk [Cousins] from inside-out. I think that’s a big factor for him. If he has a clean pocket, he is obviously extremely accurate and does a great job in those areas. The more that we can keep the middle of the pocket secure with some size, I think that’s important for us as a football team.

Q: How have you seen Klint Kubiak already adjust to the offensive coordinator role and make his tweaks he wants in this scheme and how is that going to unfold this season? A: I am trying to give Klint [Kubiak] as many opportunities to get a feel for how things are going to run and how he calls a game and different situations like that. He’s done a great job. The players have all the respect in the world for him and he knows what we want to do as a football team and how we want to approach things. I think he has a really good feel for what the players do best, which is really important. For all the new or young coordinators, I think it is important that they get a chance to kind of practice their game-like situations, certain calls and understanding the game, whether it’s we’re winning or losing or two- minute. I am trying to get him as well as Adam [Zimmer] and Ryan [Ficken] as many of these opportunities as they can get.

Q: Who do you envision fitting into that wide receiver role early in the process? A: It’s really hard to tell. I really like some of these guys. Some of the young guys we drafted, even , I think he has done a nice job. We still got [Chad] Beebe. K.J. Osborn has had a really nice camp. They have all kind of grown as they have been moving forward here. Thank goodness we have some of these preseason games to get a look at some of these guys as well. But once we get into camp, I think we’ll find out about some of them as we move forward. The other part about being the third, fourth or fifth receiver is about how you do on special teams.

Q: As the passing game has evolved in the league, has that changed? What you need in that position with everyone needing to be able to cover? A: I think one of the big things is that all of these linebackers are made to run nowadays. Two-down middle linebackers are like dinosaurs and are extinct. All these guys have to be able to be good in the passing game and good in the running game. Quite honestly, the number of base defensive plays that you have are way down compared to what it used to be. has done a nice job. , . We got a lot of competition as well. [Tuf] Borland has done a nice job. The more that these guys continue to go and add to the depth of our linebacker spot, I think it will be really good for our special teams as well. One of the things I feel like we have done, especially on the defensive side of the ball, is we have added a lot of competition at all the spots. I think competition makes you all better because they can’t count as say ‘I am number four and they’re going to keep six guys.’ Everybody is fighting for their job and I think that is a great thing for us as a football team.

Q: What are your impressions of ? Where does a left tackle rank on the list of toughest jumps from college to pro? A: Most spots are tough to go from college to pro. Obviously quarterback would be the toughest one, but left tackles face some flamethrowers over on that side. He [Christian Darrisaw] has done a nice job. He has missed a little bit of time but practiced yesterday. He has missed a little bit of time, probably three or four days, so he’s fitting into the mix. He is a very talented and athletic kid. He is very, very smart and works very hard. We’ll just have to see. We’ve got some other guys that are doing well at tackle too, [Olisaemeka] Udo, . He is a big veteran guy who is a terrific pass protector along with Brian O’Neill. He is competing and he’s got to continue to compete. It’s a tough job. They’re all pretty tough, honestly.

Q: Now that Covid-19 vaccines are available and the league is encouraging players and coaches to get vaccinated, how are you going about that discussion with the players? A: Today we had a team meeting with Dr. Allen Sills, the Chief Medical Officer for the NFL. He talked about the vaccine, how safe it is and how it became tested. He talked to them about what the protocols will be like next fall, which we should be hearing in the next couple of days. He talked to them about why they should, even if they have had Covid, still get vaccinated because your antibodies are way off the charts. You’re going to be safer if it comes back again. One of the players asked about if they would need to get a booster shot at some point. There is a lot of those things and we are just trying to educate those guys. They have to make their own decisions. The unvaccinated players are going to have a hard time during the season. They are going to be wearing masks, they’re going to have to social distance, they’ll have daily testing. They won’t go home for bye week and have to come back here and test every day. When we go on the road, they won’t be able to go out to dinner with anybody. They’ll have to travel on busses differently and travel on planes differently, so a lot of meetings will be virtual like we have here. It’s not only the safety part of being vaccinated, but as far as being a part of a football team. For me, for instance, I don’t have to wear a mask. We had a staff meeting the other day and everybody is in the same room. We can sit there and talk as opposed to doing this like we’re doing here. I know you guys know, I don’t like doing all of the media stuff, but I would much rather be sitting in a room talking to you then up at this camera and looking down as you.