The Minnesota Vikings fired first-year offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, the team announced Tuesday.
Quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski was elevated to interim offensive coordinator and will take over play-calling duties for the Vikings (6-6-1), who have mustered just 17 points in the last two games.
The offense struggled mightily on Monday as Minnesota fell for the fourth time in six outings with a 21-7 setback versus the Seattle Seahawks. The Vikings rank 17th in total yards per game (354.4), 20th in scoring (21.7) and 30th in rushing yards per contest (85.4) this season.
Pro Bowl wide receiver Adam Thielen came to the defense of DeFilippo after the team’s performance in Seattle.
“You hear the offensive coordinator is getting a lot of ridicule, but it’s about the players,” Thielen said, via the Pioneer Press. “The players have got to make the plays. It doesn’t matter what play is called, you have to run that play and you have to be successful on it. It just comes down to execution, all 11 players doing the right thing.”
DeFilippo was signed as the team’s offensive coordinator in February after Pat Shurmur accepted the head coaching position with the New York Giants.
The 40-year-old DeFilippo spent the previous two seasons as the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he worked with Carson Wentz during his first two years in the league and helped the North Dakota State product become a potential MVP candidate in 2017.
DeFilippo also is credited with playing a significant role in getting fellow quarterback Nick Foles ready to step up following Wentz’s ACL injury. Foles did that and more as he was named the MVP of Super Bowl LII after the Eagles posted a 41-33 win over the New England Patriots.
Prior to his stint in Philadelphia, DeFilippo worked one campaign as offensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns under Mike Pettine.
DeFilippo’s first NFL job came in 2005 as an offensive quality control assistant for the Giants. DeFilippo’s first quarterbacks coach job came two years later, and he spent two years with the Oakland Raiders during No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell’s short run with the club.
