Until Friday, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier had merely hinted at making changes to his staff. But now, an overhaul on the defensive side of things has entered the action stage.
For starters, the Vikings have fired defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, a move confirmed Friday, the same day Raheem Morris interviewed at Winter Park as a potential candidate to be the new defensive coordinator.
To be clear, Frazier still has not removed Fred Pagac from the latter post. Dunbar is the only assistant who has been officially dismissed, his six-season run in the Twin Cities ending with a cordial but nondescript sendoff.
"This is what they wanted," Dunbar said in a phone interview with the Star Tribune. "Coach Frazier told me they wanted to go in a different direction. And for me, that's fine. As football coaches, we know we're all migrant workers and we go where the jobs are. Now, my job in Minnesota is over."
Still, Morris' visit is part of a larger evaluation process that could send more dominoes in motion soon.
After being fired as head coach in Tampa Bay on Monday and reportedly interviewing for a defensive backs coach opening in Washington a couple of days later, Morris traded thoughts with Frazier and the Vikings on Friday.
If Morris were ultimately hired to take over the defense, it would not be a surprise if Frazier opted to dismantle his current staff on that side of the ball, working with Morris to put together a new assistant coaching tree.
For weeks now, there's been widespread belief that Pagac is done as the defensive coordinator. Yet the Vikings seem content to let him twist in the wind as Frazier explores other options, similar to the course of action taken last year when Frazier surveyed replacement options for offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and special teams coach Brian Murphy.
