The Vikings hired two coaches for Brian Flores’ defensive staff on Saturday, Jan. 31, while making two changes to their offensive staff designed to help their run game and reboot their offensive front.
According to a source with knowledge of the moves, the Vikings hired former Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith as their assistant head coach, bringing him in for a key role shaping the run game after his time with Mike McDaniel in Miami. The Vikings promoted assistant offensive line coach Keith Carter to their top offensive line coach job and hired two veteran coaches — Ryan Nielsen and Gerald Alexander — for their defensive line and defensive backs coaches jobs.
Smith played a key role in constructing a Dolphins run game in Miami that ranked sixth in the league in 2023, as Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achance helped the Dolphins lead the league in offensive yards that season. In Minnesota, he’ll likely give a boost to the Vikings’ run game, while using his offensive line background to help Carter take over a group that continued to struggle in 2025 after a major series of offseason investments.
Carter received the only internal promotion in the group, replacing Chris Kuper as the offensive line coach after the Vikings decided not to renew Kuper’s contract. The 2025 season was Carter’s first in Minnesota, after seven seasons with the Titans and Jets. The Vikings used more than 20 different offensive line combinations last season, while center Ryan Kelly navigated a series of concussions and left tackle Christian Darrisaw tried to return from his 2024 knee surgery. Players in Tennessee and New York criticized Carter’s coaching style, but his first season in Minnesota helped him get the promotion once he’d had a chance to articulate his vision for the offensive line in an interview for the job.
Nielsen had interviewed for the Vikings’ defensive coordinator job in 2023 before the team hired Flores; the longtime Saints defensive line coach was the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator in 2024 before he was fired as part of Doug Pederson’s staff in Jacksonville. He’ll replace Marcus Dixon, who had interviewed for other jobs this offseason after his contract in Minnesota expired.
Nielsen will also be the Vikings’ defensive run game coordinator, while Alexander gets the defensive pass game coordinator title added to his job. Alexander had been Flores’ defensive backs coach in Miami during his final two years as the Dolphins head coach, before moving to Pittsburgh with Flores as part of Mike Tomlin’s staff in 2022. He was the Raiders’ safety coach in 2024 before returning to Pittsburgh as the defensive backs coach in 2025.
Alexander replaces Daronte Jones, who was hired as the Commanders’ defensive coordinator this week. The Vikings could also look for an assistant defensive backs coach to replace Michael Hutchings, who left to become Cal’s defensive coordinator.
Assistant head coach Mike Pettine, who had been with the Vikings since O’Connell took over as head coach in 2022, retired after the 2025 season.
