Report: Vikings to hire ex-Raiders OC Downing as assistant
The Minnesota Vikings are expected to hire former Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing as a senior offensive assistant, according to Sirius XM's Adam Caplan.
An Eden Prairie native, Downing began his NFL coaching career in Minnesota, holding three different positions from 2001 to 2005. He spent time with the Rams, Lions and Bills before joining the Raiders as quarterbacks coach in 2015.
Downing, 37, was not retained by the Raiders when the team hired Jon Gruden as its new head coach in January. A report in December called it "a near certainty" that Downing would be fired after the season even if previous head coach Jack Del Rio was not fired.
Quarterback Derek Carr and the Raiders' offense took a major step back in 2017, Downing's first season as a coordinator, a year after the unit thrived under then-coordinator Bill Musgrave. Oakland chose last offseason not to retain Musgrave, whose contract expired, promoting Downing from QBs coach to OC instead.
The Raiders finished 2017 ranked 23rd in points per game and tied for 17th in yards, down from seventh and sixth, respectively, in 2016. Carr's QB rating dropped more than 10 points (96.7 to 86.4), and he threw interceptions on a career-high 2.5 percent of his passes.
In Minnesota, Downing will join newly hired offensive coordinator John DeFilippo in replacing Pat Shurmur, who guided the Vikings' offense to a terrific 2017 campaign before leaving to be the New York Giants' head coach. The Vikings also retained quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski, who wasn't permitted to interview to be Shurmur's offensive coordinator with the Giants.
--Field Level Media
