Bears
- The Chicago Bears announced that they have hired Jim Arthur as their new strength and conditioning coach.
Packers
- According to Jeff Darlington, the Packers hiring QB coach Tom Clements out of retirement is a โkey moveโ in keeping Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback.
- Rob Demovsky reports that OLB coach Mike Smith is leaving the organization to โpursue other opportunities.โ
- Demovsky mentions that this wasnโt a rash decision and has โbeen in discussion for a while.โ
- The Packers announced that they have hired Jason Rebrovich as their new outside linebackers coach to replace Smith.
Vikings
- Vikings HC Kevin OโConnell is โanticipatingโ QB Kirk Cousins being with the team in 2022 and is planning on building the offense around him: โI know heโs under contract and Iโm excited to coach him. Weโve already started thinking about how weโre going to build our system for himโฆIโm anticipating Kirk being a part of what weโre going to do.โ (Nick Shook)
- Cousinsโ accuracy intrigues OโConnell, and he believes that he can build a similar system to what Rams QB Matthew Stafford has in Los Angeles: โThe one thing Iโve always noticed about him is heโs incredibly accurate with the footballโฆI think we can build an offensive system like we had in LA to take advantage of that skillset.โ (Shook)
- OโConnell mentioned that he likes LB Anthony Barr, who is an impending free agent. (Chris Tomasson)
- OโConnell will call offensive plays. (Courtney Cronin)
- OโConnell said the Vikings will operate primarily out of an odd-front, but noted that there will be nickel and other hybrid packages that the team will utilize as well. (Ben Goessling)
- Vikings Co-Owner Mark Wilf was adamant that the team is not rebuilding and plans to be successful right away: โI certainly do believe and even more so now that weโve got our leadership here in place that we are built to be successful right away. We feel very confident about that and like you heard before, weโre going to work with Kirk as our quarterback and weโll move forward from there but for 2022, for sure, weโre going to be super competitive. Sustained success is the goal and I think we have it with this leadership.โ (Cronin)
- When asked about the Vikingsโ interest in Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh, owner Mark Wilf responded that they felt Kevin OโConnell was their โbest fitโ to succeed: โWe have tremendous respect for (him)โฆ We had wonderful experiences conversingโฆ Ultimately we wanted to have a coach that would be the best fit, give us the best chance to win, and we feel very pleased with Kevin as our head coach.โ (Chris Tomasson)
- Jordan Schultz reports that Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has โzero intentionโ of accepting a pay cut and a possible extension would cost around $40 million per year.
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