Vikings’ ‘rising star’ safeties coach hired away to be Cal’s defensive coordinator

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The Vikings lost a member of their defensive staff before the season’s conclusion.

Safeties coach Michael Hutchings was announced as the University of California, Berkeley’s new defensive coordinator Dec. 26, the day after the Vikings defense forced six turnovers in their win over Detroit.

Hutchings, 30, was in his third year with the Vikings and second as safeties coach. He had started as an assistant defensive backs coach in 2023.

“That’s a great accomplishment for him,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said Dec. 30. “I’m gonna go off on a tangent here, but three years ago when we met Mike — Hutch, as we call him — it was pretty easy to see this guy, he’s going places, as some would say. I would call him a rising star in this league, in college and NFL."

Hutchings will join new Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi’s staff. Lupoi is a defensive coach, most recently serving as defensive coordinator at Oregon under Dan Lanning.

The Vikings defense catapulted back to just inside the NFL’s top 10 in turnovers this season with a standout performance against the Lions. Safeties Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus are tied with cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. to lead the group in interceptions this season with two apiece.

Before joining the Vikings staff, Hutchings coached in defensive position and analyst roles at Western Kentucky (2022), Oregon (2021) and USC (2018-20). Hutchings is a USC alum and played linebacker for the Trojans.

Members of the Vikings defensive staff, including Flores, have been targeted in recent hiring cycles because of the success the group has created.

Flores interviewed for three head coaching positions after the 2024 season. Defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Daronte Jones talked with at least two teams about coordinator jobs in that same cycle.

Flores said he believes multiple staffers are future coordinators, including Jones and inside linebackers coach Mike Siravo.

“I know a lot of people kind of think it’s all me,” Flores said. “It certainly isn’t. Those guys, they put a lot of work in. I tell ‘em all the time: I don’t care where a good idea comes from. They present them, and we go out there and coach it and the players execute it. I can’t give those guys enough credit.”

“If you kind of look at the numbers, what the play has done in terms of adding more plays from a special teams standpoint, how it’s been able to change games in a positive and negative way as well,” Daniels said. “I think it’s really exactly what the league wants.”

The new rule requires a kicked ball to fall in a “landing zone” between the goal line and 20-yard line. Otherwise, it’s a touchback to the 35-yard line.

Through Week 14, 77.3% of kickoffs leaguewide were returned, an increase of over two times compared with last season’s total.

The Vikings have returned 66 kickoffs this year, with undrafted rookie Myles Price doing the majority of that work. The team had only 14 returns in 2024.

Daniels said he expects there to be some dissection of how the rule change has affected injury numbers — specifically concussions and ligament tears — though the increase in plays because of the rule inherently means more injuries.

Overall, though, Daniels said he’s happy with how the rule has changed special teams play. Next, he said, he wants to see it implemented at the college level to add some action there, too.