Vikings decision-makers: Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave

September 12, 2012 at 4:32PM
Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave
Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave (Dml - Carlos Gonzalez Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Bill Musgrave is a stickler for efficiency. So the preseason creed has been straightforward: If every guy on the field performs ordinary tasks extraordinarily well, points will pile up.

Musgrave also wants his Vikings offense to be diverse and unpredictable. And while that's a noble goal, the 44-year-old coordinator also will have to resist the temptation to overthink things. In other words, keeping defenses off-balance with creative and diverse play calling is one thing. Forgetting you have Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin at key moments is another.

This year's Vikings seem stocked with playmakers -- from Peterson and Harvin to receiver Jerome Simpson and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Keeping all of those players active and happy will be a challenge. Finding ways to heighten the confidence of quarterback Christian Ponder also will be a Musgrave must in the early season.

about the writer

about the writer

More from No Section

See More
FILE -- A rent deposit slot at an apartment complex in Tucker, Ga., on July 21, 2020. As an eviction crisis has seemed increasingly likely this summer, everyone in the housing market has made the same plea to Washington: Send money — lots of it — that would keep renters in their homes and landlords afloat. (Melissa Golden/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT58
Melissa Golden/The New York Times

It’s too soon to tell how much the immigration crackdown is to blame.