Zimmer Era Vikings OC Climbs into 2026 Head Coaching Carousel

With Week 18 of the regular season now in the rearview mirror, we’ve officially reached Black Monday in the NFL, where teams across the NFL fire their unwanted coaches in hopes that their next guy will be more successful.

The Minnesota Vikings aren’t going to be involved in any coaching carousel talk this offseason that includes the exit of head coach Kevin O’Connell. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah isn’t going anywhere, either.

The last time Minnesota was involved in a major coaching change was 2022, when they transitioned from Mike Zimmer to Jim Harbaugh Kevin O’Connell, who was being hailed as the next great offensive coaching mind in football… until the Vikings offense flopped in 2025, with JJ McCarthy under center.

Since KOC arrived four seasons ago, the head coach has called the Vikings plays on offense, while OC Wes Phillips has taken the tag as offensive coordinator. The last OC in Minnesota before Phillips and O’Connell was Klink Kubiak, who called plays in 2021 under then head coach Mike Zimmer.

Atlanta Falcons interested in Klint Kubiak for HC opening

When Zim was fired, Kubiak found a new home in New Orleans, where he has flourished as a play-caller, before moving on to Seattle and coaching Sam Darnold for a year.

Now, after neither Kirk Cousins or Michael Penix Jr. could get the job done in Atlanta this year — leading them to fire head coach Raheem Morris — the Falcons are interviewing Kubiak to be their next head coach, according to Tom Pelissero (NFL Network).

The Falcons requested an interview with Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak for their head coaching job, per source.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 5, 2026

The Seahawks wrapped up the number one seed in the NFC with a win over the San Francisco 49ers in week 18. Seattle’s 14-3 record allowed Sam Darnold to match Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in history to repeat 14-win seasons.

Under Kubiak, the Seahawks offense ranked 8th in yards and 3rd in points this season. During his time away from offensive coordinator duties (2022-2023), he worked as the passing game coordinator for both the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers.

At just 38 years old, Klint Kubiak wouldn’t be far off from Kellen Moore (36), as the youngest current coach in the league, should he find a job during this offseason cycle.

MN Vikings could have a shuffle of their own

It seems unlikely that the MN Vikings would let Brian Flores get away for a lateral move. If Tom Brady comes calling to have him lead the Las Vegas Raiders though, he’s as good as gone.

After going 9-8 and finishing outside of the playoffs, it would be silly to run everything back. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Ryan Grigson probably warrant a dismissal, but that’s unlikely. More appropriately, assistant coaches and member of the training staff could be held responsible for the team’s shortcomings this season.

At the end of the day, there is always a significant amount of turnover within organizations at the end of a season. It becomes that much more imperative to get it right when coming off a year where you fell short.