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Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he plans to become more involved with the team’s offense after firing offensive coordinator John DeFilippo on Tuesday, per Courtney Cronin of ESPN.
Zimmer addressed DeFilippo’s firing, saying the offense's struggles did not come down to one game or one person.
“At the end of the day, it is a production business,” Zimmer said. “It's difficult. It's hard thinking about it, hard making the decision, hard trying to. I have a lot of respect for John. I think he is a very, very brilliant mind. But we weren't producing is the end of it.”
Quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski will take over from DeFilippo as interim offensive coordinator for the Vikings' last three games of the season. Stefanski has been with the team since 2006 and will be the primary play-caller for the first time in his coaching career.
Zimmer is high on Stefanski’s ability to perform in the new job and has offered to help him succeed in that role.
“I think the biggest thing with Kevin is he has been here for a long time, so he knows how we do things here, No. 1,” Zimmer said. “No. 2, I think he has a good grasp of his players. Kevin is a very brilliant guy. I interviewed him for the coordinator job this past offseason. We've got a lot of smart guys in that room.
“I will try to help him the best I can and so will everybody else, and hopefully the players will too.”
The Vikings’ Stefanski (and Zimmer)-led offense will get its first test against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
