The Minnesota Vikings announce Klint Kubiak has been named offensive coordinator and Andrew Janocko quarterbacks coach. The club has also hired Keenan McCardell as wide receivers coach and Sam Siefkes hired as defensive quality control coach.
Kubiak previously served as the Vikings quarterbacks coach from 2019-20, and Janocko as the Vikings wide receivers coach in 2020. As quarterbacks coach for the Vikings, Kubiak led Kirk Cousins during his two most prolific seasons in the NFL, helping Cousins to a career-high 107.4 passer rating in 2019 and a 105.0 passer rating in 2020, the second-highest of his career. Since the start of the 2019 season, Cousins, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson are the only quarterbacks in the NFL to rank in the top 10 in each of the following statistical categories: passing yards, passing touchdowns and passing yards per attempt. Kubiak is a 12-year coaching veteran who has coached quarterbacks for the last five seasons for the Denver Broncos and Vikings.
Kubiak says quarterback Kirk Cousins will be a piece of what they do on offense, but its a team game:
After coaching the Vikings wide receivers in 2020, one of those most productive position groups in the entire NFL, Janocko will take over the Vikings quarterbacks room in 2021. Janocko, who played quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh, is the Vikings longest tenured offensive coach on staff having served in a variety of roles with the offensive staff since being hired in 2015. In 2020, Janocko led Justin Jefferson to one of the best seasons in the history of the NFL by a rookie wide receiver. Jefferson finished his first season with an NFL rookie record 1,400 receiving yards and a Vikings rookie record 88 receptions, along with seven receiving touchdowns. Jefferson became the first rookie wide receiver earn to Associated Press All-Pro honors (first or second team) since Randy Moss in 1998. Adam Thielen finished with a career-high 14 receiving touchdowns, fifth most in team history, in his lone season coached by Janocko.
A two-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl champion, McCardell joins Minnesota’s coaching staff in 2021 as the wide receivers coach. McCardell previously spent four seasons (2017-20) coaching the same position for the Jacksonville Jaguars where he was responsible for the development of wide receivers D.J. Chark Jr., Keelan Cole and Laviska Shenault Jr. In 2019, Jacksonville was one of only three teams in the NFL to have three wide receivers with at least 650 receiving yards and Chark recorded 1,008 yards to lead the team, garnering his first career Pro Bowl nod. Since 2017, McCardell’s receiving corps ranked in the top 15 in the league in receptions (794), receiving yards (10,131) and receiving touchdowns (59). Prior to joining Jacksonville’s staff, he coached the wide receivers at the University of Maryland from 2014-15 where he oversaw the development of former Viking and current Buffalo Bill Stefon Diggs. McCardell, who played collegiately at UNLV, played for five NFL franchises during his 17-year career (1991-2007), amassing 883 receptions for 11,373 yards and 63 touchdowns.
Sam Siefkes joins Minnesota’s coaching staff as the defensive quality control coach and will fulfill day-to-day operations for the defensive staff, among other duties. Siefkes was formerly the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Wofford (2018-20). In 2019, the Terrier defense was ranked 20th in the nation in total defense as the team won the Southern Conference Championship for the third straight season and competed in the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Among Southern Conference schools, Siefkes defense ranked first in total defense and rushing defense in both 2018 and 2019. Wofford’s 2020 season was moved to Spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to Wofford, he served as the defensive coordinator for UW-Platteville (2016-17) and a defensive graduate assistant coach at Wisconsin (2015). He also spent time with Florida International University in 2014 and Wisconsin-La Crosse from 2012-14.