The Vikings appear to be narrowing their list of head coach candidates with news Sunday that two coordinators going head-to-head in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game will get second interviews for the head coaching job in Minnesota, while Jim Harbaugh also remains a candidate.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Vikings will conduct in-person interviews with 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, while “continuing to explore the possibility of hiring Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.”
The #Vikings plan to conduct second interviews for their head coaching job next week with multiple candidates, including #Rams OC Kevin O’Connell and #49ers DC DeMeco Ryans, per sources … and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Jim Harbaugh makes a visit, too. https://t.co/4bEPmVC0BE
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2022
Harbaugh reportedly met with the Vikings on Saturday in an exploratory fashion. Pelissero says a second interview has not yet been scheduled with Harbaugh, but the Vikings could invite him to their headquarters at TCO Performance Center in Eagan this week.
All three candidates worked in some capacity with new Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah when Adofo-Mensah was a research specialist with the 49ers from 2013-19.
Harbaugh was the head coach in San Francisco from 2011-14; Ryans was the 49ers’ defensive quality control coach in 2017 and their linebackers coach from 2018-20, now serving as their defensive coordinator; and O’Connell was a member of the 49ers offensive staff in 2016.
Both Harbaugh and O’Connell played quarterback, while Ryans was a standout linebacker in the NFL for a decade.
Harbaugh is 58 years old, Ryans is 37 and O’Connell is 36.
