Minnesota Vikings fans have known for a while how special their own trio is, but it appears the national news is coming around as well. Maybe it was the development Sam Darnold experienced last year. Maybe it was the next step from Brian Flores’ group.

No matter what sparked the change in reasoning, the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff is now seen as the cream of the crop.

Minnesota Vikings coach staff ranked #1 in NFL

While a complete coaching staff is comprised of well more than just the head coach and his top coordinators, that is where the focal points are. NFL analyst for ESPN, Ben Solak, put together a ranking of the coaching staffs from all 32 teams. He has Minnesota at number one.

“When I ranked the Vikings in this exercise last season, I sang the praises of Flores, the defensive coordinator who had done the most with the least in 2023. But I wondered if O’Connell, another branch off the Shanahan-McVay tree, could innovate and evolve beyond the tried-and-true system he had run with Kirk Cousins to that point. What could he offer a younger quarterback in need of development?

The answer: a whole lot! Not necessarily to the quarterback we expected, as Sam Darnold started the entire season in J.J. McCarthy’s absence — but what a season it was. O’Connell’s mastery is in opening intermediate and downfield passing windows. Darnold had more passing attempts at least 10 yards downfield than any other quarterback, and NFL Next Gen Stats charted those targets with an average separation of 2.7 yards — fifth highest in the league.

O’Connell has easily leaped into that utmost echelon of offensive designers, and Flores remains the cream of the defensive crop. There are always little things to wonder about — scheming for a rookie is different from scheming for a veteran, even if that veteran had never been successful elsewhere — but there is no doubt that O’Connell & Co. elevate players more than any other coaching staff in football.”

Ben Solak – ESPN

It’s hard to look at what the Minnesota Vikings accomplished last season and not be amazed by those orchestrating it. O’Connell has long been considered an elite offensive mind. He displayed that in the form of Sam Darnold throwing for a career-best 4,319 yards with a 66.2% completion rate.

Each cycle it gets tougher to hear about losing Brian Flores on defense. He has elevated the MN Vikings immensely, and now rolls out the top front seven in the game. It looks as though he’ll have even more talent to work with this season.

Related: Vikings Front Seven Living Up to Hype Early

Although it’s fair to question the overall impact of Wes Phillips, he is clearly part of the process as well. To jump up nine spots from 10th overall, where Solak had Minnesota last year, it’s quite an impressive leap.

Next test coming for Vikings staff

Now with developmental and execution expectations heightened, the Minnesota Vikings will need to succeed again. J.J. McCarthy is under center for the first time as a professional, and the secondary has seen some turnover.

O’Connell has to prove he can replicate the quarterback success from Darnold onto McCarthy. Flores has to operate with the changing pieces now at his disposal.

Related: Former MN Vikings RB Hangs Up Cleats

Detroit was pilfered on the coaching front and now ranks (11th) behind Green Bay (10th) for second in the division. That’s a benefit to the Vikings, and while their rosters may be comparable, the coaching staff in Minnesota has to be a differentiator.

Up in the front office, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah signed his own extension, before he gave his top confidants, Ryan Grigson and Demetrius Washington, promotions from vice presidents of player personnel to co-assistant GMs.

While there have been some coaching departures, the most notable being assistant QB coach and OC, Grant Udinsky, now offensive coordinator for the Jaguars. But for the most part, the 2024 Minnesota Vikings coaching staff remains in-tact entering 2025, something that was far from guaranteed three to five months ago.

The Minnesota Vikings have employed Wes Phillips as their offensive coordinator for the past four seasons, since Kevin O’Connell took over as head coach. But he’s been with KOC longer than that. In fact, Wes and Kevin first coached together in 2017.

Minnesota Vikings sign OC Wes Phillips to contract extension

That’s when O’Connell first joined the Washington Redskins staff, as QB coach under then OC Kyle Shanahan. Since meeting up in DC, however, Wes hasn’t left Kevin’s side. They went from Washington to LA (Rams), then Minnesota together.

And after Wes Phillips agreed to a contract extension with the Vikings late Friday night, it looks like the two friends will continue their coaching journeys together, into the foreseeable future. Wes was entering the final year of his previous deal, prior to inking this one.

The #Vikings agreed to a contract extension with offensive coordinator Wes Phillips on Friday night, securing a key member of Kevin O’Connell's coaching staff with a new deal: https://t.co/dyTM3N9L6Z

— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) June 14, 2025

“The deal they reached on Friday night secured one of O’Connell’s key confidants, who helps organize the team’s game plan during the week and provides a crucial voice for the coach as he calls plays on Sundays. Phillips turned down a job calling plays for the Chargers after the 2022 season, deciding to stay in Minnesota on O’Connell’s staff; he will work with the head coach and the Vikings’ offensive staff in 2025 as the team prepares 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to take over as starting quarterback.”

Ben Goessling – Star Tribune

Ben Goessling (Star Tribune) broke the news on Wes Phillips’ extension late Friday night. But the “one of us” beat writer first reported Wes’ new deal as being imminent about two weeks ago, on his Access Vikings Podcast. There, he also noted that a Brian Flores extension is likely coming soon too.

Wes’ new contract ensures he stays with Minnesota beyond 2025, unless he receives an offer elsewhere that would promote him to either head coach or play-calling offensive coordinator. Phillips doesn’t call plays for the Vikings, because Kevin O’Connell does.

Phillips’ time with Vikings has been up and down

Just a couple of years ago, this new contract was far from guaranteed for Wes Phillips. With a bunch of young, up-and-coming offensive coaches around him, many wondered how exactly the 45-year-old (now 46) fit into the future of Minnesota’s coaching staff.

Then in December 2023, while the Vikings were still in the midst of KOC’s only non-playoff season as head coach, Phillips was arrested on DWI charges that he would eventually plead down to “Careless Driving”. Instead of firing him, Kevin O’Connell gave his friend another chance. One and a half years later, here we are.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Sign New O-Lineman, Cut Safety

This is arguably the most important season in recent memory for the Minnesota Vikings. Wes Phillips, QB coach Josh McCown and KOC are all tasked with getting the most out of new starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy. We’ll see if they can work some more magic on yet another different QB.

The final OTA practices of the offseason are scheduled for June 16-18. Then, most of the team will be off for a month, before they reconvene on July 21 for the start of training camp. What will we do with that time off?

Well while we twiddle our thumbs, while we wait for football to return, it sounds like the Minnesota Vikings front office will be busy inking assistant coaches to contract extensions.

Extensions coming for Minnesota Vikings coaches, specifically Brian Flores and Wes Phillips

According to Ben Goessling (Star Tribune) on a recent episode of the Access Vikings podcast, defensive coordinator Brian Flores and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips are both going into contract years and could be on the verge of extensions. In fact, he says to watch out for something on Phillips in the “not-too-distant future”.

A potential @Vikings OC Wes Phillips contract extension seems imminent, according to @BenGoessling.

“It’s sounds like we may hear something in the not too distant future on the Wes Phillips front.”

(Via: @AccessVikings / YT) pic.twitter.com/Mefxvz0Jw5

— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) June 4, 2025

“Brian Flores, Wes Phillips entering contract years. My understanding is there’s talks [happening] with a couple of those coaches. It sounds like we may hear something in the not-too-distant future on the Wes Phillips front. But yeah, they have some business to do with the coaching staff.”

Ben Goessling – Access Vikings Podcast

Wes Phillips came over with Kevin O’Connell, from the Los Angeles Rams. Unlike some of the other young, up-and-coming coaches in the league who have and still do coach Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks, Wes is a veteran coaching voice who KOC doesn’t have to worry as much about leaving for his next big opportunity.

Outside of being arrested, pleading guilty to and getting suspended for a DWI back in December of 2023, Wes Phillips has been there by Kevin O’Connell’s side since the beginning of his head coaching tenure… and it sounds like that will continue for the foreseeable future.

Related: Multiple Insiders Still See Kirk Cousins Landing Back in Minnesota

Prior to his arrival in Los Angeles in 2019, Phillips worked with Sean McVay in Washington from 2014-2018. Before that, he was with his dad Wade Phillips in Dallas from 2007-2013), first as an quality control coordinator, then assistant OL coach, before eventually becoming the Cowboys’ tight ends coach for the 2013 season.

Prior to joining his father’s NFL staff, Wes spent time as a college quarterbacks coach at West Texas A&M (2004-2005) and Baylor (2006).

Flores extension incoming too…?

Obviously, Goessling doesn’t do much to hide the fact that Kwesi is currently working out contracts with multiple coaches. He doesn’t specifically reference something being close between defensive coordinator Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings, but he was the only other coach outside of Wes Phillips, who was mentioned by name.

More so than Phillips on offense, the Minnesota Vikings defense is 100% reliant on its defensive coordinator. Nobody runs a defense like Brian Flores and there is a reason for that. In the two seasons since taking over in place of one-and-done failure Ed Donatell, the Vikings defense has flourished under Flores.

Related: Justin Jefferson Reveals Why He Attended Minnesota Vikings OTAs

In 2022, they ranked 28th out of 32 NFL teams in points allowed (427) and 31st in yards allowed (6,608). In year two under Flores (2024), the MN Vikings defense ranked 5th in points allowed (332) and 16th in yards allowed (5,702).

The only reason why Brian Flores is not a head coach is because of the mistakes he made with Tua Tagovailoa in Miami, combined with the ongoing lawsuit he has against multiple teams and the league, itself. Until all of those things are resolved, Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings will be happy to have him as their DC.

The #Vikings are suspending offensive coordinator Wes Phillips without pay for three weeks, after his December arrest on suspicion of drunken driving. Phillips pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of careless driving in February.

His suspension begins today, and ends April 23.

— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) April 2, 2024

Wes Phillips enters his 18th season coaching in the NFL and third with the Minnesota Vikings as offensive coordinator in 2024, after serving as pass game coordinator/tight ends coach for the Los Angeles Rams, who won Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.

2023 was Phillips 2nd season under Kevin O’Connell. They shuffled through four different starting quarterbacks, the most in franchise history, after Kirk Cousins tore his achilles in Week 8.

Who is Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator, Wes Phillips?

Wes is the 44-year-old son of legendary NFL coach, Wade Phillips. He’s been in the NFL for 17 seasons. His start in the NFL came under his father’s Dallas Cowboys in 2007, when he was hired as a quality control assistant.

Related: KOC Makes ‘Structural Changes’ to Vikings Coaching Staff So He Can Focus on Rookie QB

Prior to his NFL coaching career, Phillips graduated from UTEP with a degree in Philosophy. He spent most of his college years as a backup quarterback, though he did win the starting job as a senior, throwing for 1,839 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Wes Phillips DWI Pleaded Down to Reckless Driving

Court documents show, according to Kevin Siefert (ESPN) that the original charges were 4th-degree DWI and that his reduced charge will cost the Vikings OC just $378 in fees and 8 hours of community service.

Per court documents, Vikings OC Wes Phillips will plead guilty to an amended charge of careless driving stemming from his Dec. 8 arrest. He was originally charged was 4th degree DWI. Will pay $378 in fees + 8 hours community work. Hearing scheduled for tomorrow.

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) February 15, 2024

Wes (44 y/o) is son of long-time defensive coordinator and former NFL head coach, Wade Phillips. He’s been an NFL coach for 17 seasons, the first of which came under his father’s Dallas Cowboys in 2007, when he was hired as a quality control assistant on offense.

Related: What is Kevin O’Connell Looking for When Evaluating Vikings Next Franchise QB?

Prior to his NFL coaching career, Phillips graduated from UTEP, where he spent most of his college spent most of his college years as a backup quarterback. He finally won the starting job as a senior, throwing for 1,839 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

After trying to make it in Arena Football for a couple of years, Phillips decided he was more fit to be a coach, than he was a player. This appears to be his first time with any legal troubles or arrests related to drinking alcohol.

Wes Phillips pleads ‘not guilty’ to DWI charges

On Thursday, according to Kevin Siefert (ESPN), Phillips waived his right to appear in court today, but authorized his attorney to file a plea of ‘not guilty’.

According to court documents, Vikings OC Wes Phillips waived his right to appear at today's scheduled arraignment for his Dec. 8 misdemeanor charge of DWI, and authorized his attorney to enter a plea of not guilty. His next pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Feb. 15, 2024.

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) December 21, 2023

What does this mean?

This does not mean that Phillips’ final plea will remain ‘not guilty’. That will be decided at his pre-trial hearing, which has been schedule for February 15. Both sides will use the next couple of months to gather evidence surrounding the case.

Related: Vikings to Replace U.S. Bank Stadium Turf; Want $62M from Taxpayers for Security Upgrades

After Valentine’s Day (and just days after Super Bowl Sunday), the two sides will meet with a judge to decide how they want to move forward, whether it be via trial, plea bargain, plea changes or something else. Essentially, this allows Wes Phillips to kick the can down the road (pun intended).

Minnesota Vikings OC Wes Phillips arrested on DWI charges

Vikings OC Wes Phillips was arrested Friday night for misdemeanor DWI. He has since been released on bond. He'll accompany the team to Las Vegas. Full story to come.

Vikings statement below: pic.twitter.com/0LKEN1aHKs

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) December 9, 2023

Phillips was arrested at 11 PM last night and released before 1:30 AM Saturday morning. His charges are misdemeanor DWI and he posted an initial bond of $300 to be released.

Wes is the 44-year-old son of long-time defensive coordinator and NFL head coach, Wade Phillips. He’s been coaching in the NFL for 17 seasons. His start in the NFL came under his father’s Dallas Cowboys in 2007 when he was hired as a quality control assistant on offense.

Wes Phillips’ before coaching in NFL

Prior to his NFL coaching career, Wes Phillips (according to Wikipedia) graduated from UTEP with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. He spent most of his college years as a UTEP backup quarterback. He won the starting job as a senior, throwing for 1,839 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

After spending two years in the Arena Football developmental league (AF2) — which I didn’t know existed until writing this blog — with the San Diego Riptide, Wes finally gave up on his professional football dreams.

That’s when (I’m guessing) he realized a Philosophy degree wasn’t going to take him very far in life. So, he went back to UTEP and spent one year as a student assistant, before being hired in 2004 as West Texas A&M’s (D2) QB coach. After two years and a ton of offensive success in division II, Baylor hired him as their QB coach for the 2006 season.

NFL coaching career

Wes outlasted his dad in Dallas, climbing the Cowboys’ offensive coaching ranks, eventually reaching Tight Ends coach in 2013, the position he’d coach for nearly a decade before being named offensive coordinator in Minnesota under O’Connell.

After one season in his new role as Cowboys tight ends coach, Phillips joined Jay Gruden’s coaching staff in Washington, one that already included a budding Sean McVay. A few years after Wes’ arrival in DC, (2017) a young broad-shouldered QB coach named Kevin O’Connell was hired.

When McVay left the capital to become head coach of the LA Rams in 2019, KOC went along as his offensive coordinator and Wes made a lateral move to be the Rams’ TE coach. O’Connell was named head coach of the Vikings for the 2022 NFL season which he used to offered Wes Phillips his first promotion since 2013.

Initial research into Wes Phillips past did not reveal any sort of known drinking problems or run-ins with the law, prior to Friday night.