The Minnesota Vikings already lost their offensive coordinator from 2017, Pat Shurmur, to the New York Giants. Now, as Shurmur looks into filling his own staff in the Big Apple, he’s been shut down by his old team from pursuing a coach he’s familiar with.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Vikings blocked the Giants from interviewing quarterback coach Kevin Stefanski, who was a guy New York was targeting to be its next offensive coordinator.
Vikings denied permission for Giants to interview and hire their QB coach Kevin Stefanski as their OC, per league source. Stefanski stays in Minnesota, Giants still need an OC.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 10, 2018
This isn’t all that uncommon. We’ve seen other teams pull off similar stunts in the past when they want to keep certain coaches in the fold. It may not seem fair, necessarily, to Stefanski, especially since the Vikings now have a new offensive coordinator in John DeFilippo, but it’s just standard business practice in the NFL.