After a season filled with muffed punts and missed kicks, the Vikings are not bringing back special teams coordinator Marwon Maalouf.
“Marwon’s contract ran out so I told him I was not going to renew it,” head coach Mike Zimmer said Tuesday in his season-ending press call.
“We obviously didn’t play very well,” Zimmer said of the special teams unit. “A lot of those guys that probably should’ve been playing on special teams were playing on defense. We’re going to shore up that area and that’ll be a major emphasis as well.”
Kicker Dan Bailey’s struggles highlighted the special teams issues with seven missed field goals (15-of-22) and six missed extra points (37 of 43). The other glaring issues were in the public eye in Weeks 11, 12 and 13, when K.J. Osborn and Chad Beebe combined to fumble three punts.
No other coaches were let go, but Zimmer confirmed that offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak is considering retirement.
“He’s taking some time to mentally think about the season and where he’s at health-wise and then he’ll decide what he wants to do,” said Zimmer.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Monday that Kubiak is likely to retire, which would put Zimmer in the position to look for a sixth offensive coordinator going into his eighth season as Minnesota’s head coach.
