We have officially gotten word of the first change to Kevin O’Connell’s coaching staff for the 2026 offseason, and while it’s one that a lot of folks may have expected, it gives us something to look at as far as what may come next for the Minnesota Vikings.
The team has announced that they will not be retaining offensive line coach Chris Kuper, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
Kuper was an original member of O’Connell’s staff, joining the team shortly after O’Connell was hired in February of 2022. He played eight seasons in the NFL, spending his entire career with the Denver Broncos. He then coached with the Miami Dolphins for several seasons before becoming an assistant offensive line coach with the Broncos in 2019, holding that job for three seasons before joining the Vikings.
The Minnesota offensive line was in a constant state of flux this season, to put it lightly. The team invested heavily in the interior of the offensive line in terms of draft capital and free agent spending. However, due to injuries across all of the positions along the offensive line, the starting five they envisioned when the season started (Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, and Brian O’Neill) played just 84 snaps together this season, and the Vikings had more different offensive line combinations on the field this season than any other team in the NFL. I’m not sure how much that contributed to Kuper losing his job, given that the team had plenty of struggles at the position during all four seasons of Kuper’s tenure as the offensive line coach, but I’m sure that didn’t help things.
I’m not well-versed on who could, potentially, be in line to be Kuper’s replacement, or whether the team will look to promote from within the current coaching staff or bring someone in from the outside, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing plenty of news about that over the next few days.
What do you make of the news of the Vikings not bringing back Chris Kuper, folks? Let us know in the comments section!
