Jeff Davidson and Karl Dunbar will be on the Vikings sideline Thursday night for the final preseason game. Davidson coaches the team's offensive line. Dunbar oversees the defensive line.
If they had their druthers, the two assistants would be at a different game. Tonight, in smaller venues away from the bright lights of an NFL stadium, their sons begin their prep football seasons -- Nick Davidson at Eden Prairie and Karmichael Dunbar at Prior Lake.
It might be the only time all season that their fathers are not in the stands -- actually, Dunbar prefers to watch from the sidelines -- but their job requires them to be at the Metrodome at the same time.
"That's the way it goes," Jeff Davidson said. "He knows the only way I'll miss a game is if I have a game."
NFL coaches are notorious for spending long hours studying film and crafting game plans, sometimes going days without seeing sunlight while holed up in their offices. But by Friday afternoon the heavy lifting is done for Vikings coaches, which means Davidson and Dunbar get to watch football and cheer their sons as dads and fans, not coaches.
"It's funny because I never really wanted to coach him when he was growing up," Karl Dunbar said. "I was always a spectator."
It's not easy to flip that switch, though. They are coaches, after all. More than an occupation, it's a way of life.
Dunbar helps out the Prior Lake coaches in the spring and summer if asked. He also is the host of a three-day camp for linemen.
