Minnesota Vikings Hire Jeff Davidson To Coach Offensive Line

over 1 year ago: Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox, left, and offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson, right, look on during the NFL football team's summer session in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, June 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

By Christopher Gates

January 20, 2011

I missed this move with the Johnson hiring, but the Vikings are continuing to add to their coaching staff.

The Vikings have now added former Carolina Panthers' offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson to the staff as their new offensive line coach, according to 1500 ESPN in Minneapolis. Davidson played his college ball as an offensive guard for the. . .dramatic pause. . .Ohio State University from 1986 to 1989, and was All Big-Ten as a senior. In fact, Jeff and his father Jim who also attended Ohio State and was an All-American tackle in 1964, were the first father-son captain duo in Buckeye history.

He spent five years in the NFL, four with the Denver Broncos, who selected him in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL Draft, and one with the New Orleans Saints. After that, he coached with the Saints as a volunteer assistant in 1995, and an offensive assistant in 1996. He was hired by the New England Patriots as their tight ends coach in 1997, and from 1998 to 2004 also served as an assistant offensive line coach. In 2005, he followed Romeo Crennel to Cleveland as their offensive line coach, and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2006 after then-coordinator Maurice Carthon was fired from that position.

In 2007, he moved on to the Carolina Panthers as the team's offensive coordinator, and has been there until today, when he joined the Minnesota Vikings.

Welcome to Minnesota, Coach Davidson. Now the Vikings have filled out just about their entire staff, and can really start the move towards 2011.

College programs ponying up big bucks to land NFL coaches

By Steve Berkowitz

January 19, 2011

College football still loses marquee coaches such as Jim Harbaugh to the NFL. But it increasingly is becoming a two-way street.

Following splashy moves in the past two years by other elite programs, Miami (Fla.), Texas, Mississippi and Colorado recently have filled offensive or defensive coordinator jobs from the ranks of NFL assistants. Michigan joined in Tuesday, hiring defensive coordinator Greg Mattison from the Baltimore Ravens.

Florida, which last year attracted its defensive coordinator from the NFL, got both its coordinators from the pros this year when new head coach Will Muschamp revamped part of the staff he inherited from Urban Meyer. The Gators now have Charlie Weis, who had been the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach, and Dan Quinn, who had been the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive line coach.

The schools have not yet released their new contracts. Colorado athletics director Mike Bohn, though, described former Minnesota Vikings running backs coach Eric Bieniemy’s deal as “clearly a historical high” in term length and compensation for a Buffaloes football assistant. Michigan AD Dave Brandon says he’s “reasonably sure” Mattison’s deal “will surpass anything we’ve done in the past” for a football assistant.

Compensation has been booming for many top assistants in the Bowl Subdivision, USA TODAY studies in 2009 and 2010 found. The increases have been fueled in part by deals such as ones Tennessee made in 2009 with former NFL assistants Monte Kiffin ($1.2 million that year) and Ed Orgeron ($650,000), and one Georgia made last year with former Dallas Cowboys assistant Todd Grantham ($750,000).

Because of huge TV rights deals, especially those made by the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences, “college football has never been more lucrative than it is today,” says Neil Cornrich, who represents many college and pro football coaches.

Cornrich also says that because of the increased sophistication of college football and the speed with which college and pro teams are evolving and innovating, “the best guys are able to go back and forth.”

Former NFL Vikings Player Robert Smith Helps Children Through Charitable Program

Former NFL Vikings player visits Whitefish, helps Park & Rec

January 19, 2011

by Katy Harris

Former NFL Viking player Robert Smith came to Whitefish on Tuesday to meet a family who worships the football team he once played for, as well as to give a local organization $10,000.

The Fleming family of Whitefish has waited patiently for a few weeks when they found out they won a competition sponsored by the NFL and Proctor & Gamble.

They received a phone call from New York City saying that Smith, a former NFL running back for the Minnesota Vikings, was coming to visit them for a day.

Robert flew in to Whitefish to speak at an assembly that will inspire young children and he brought a gift with him.

The Fleming family said that they are happy to have Smith as their guest, but there's a bigger reason why he came to town than just to congratulate them on the competition.

A local boys and girls organization gets chosen to receive a $10,000 as part of the competition and the Flemings and Smith presented the Whitefish Parks and Recreation department with the $10,000 check.

"$10,000 makes a huge dent in our budget for these recreation programs. We kind of run them on a string and a prayer. It's going to make a huge difference in our ability to offer scholarships," commented Parks and Rec Board President Donnie Clapp.

The money will go toward the after school program for kids in the community as well as for summer programs put on by the department.

Some kids need scholarships to be able to participate in the programs that Whitefish Parks and Rec offers and the money will help kids participate who might not have all the funding.

"When I was little I did a lot of after school programs playing basketball and volleyball. It's just a really neat thing to be able to give $10,000 to something I got to participate in, and I know many kids in our community get to participate in it too, and I know they'll use that $10,000 for a good cause," Mandie Fleming said.

Smith says it's important to teach kids at a young age about staying active and being healthy, something they can learn from participating in programs like the ones offered up by Parks and Rec.

"Honestly it's the greatest thing about becoming an athlete is that people, they respect your opinion and listen to what you have to say. "If a few kids get the message...maybe it gets them on a path that they'll stay on for the rest of their lives. It's an incredible power," Smith concluded.

The money will be deposited into the general fund for Parks and Rec and the Fleming family is already looking forward to next football season so they can cheer on the Vikings.