Report: Vikings looking to interview Broncos’ DC Ejiro Evero

Feb 1, 2023 - 9:35 PM

Things have been relatively quiet recently in the Minnesota Vikings’ search for a defensive coordinator. They’ve interviewed four people: current Vikings’ defensive assistant Mike Pettine, Pittsburgh Steelers’ assistant Brian Flores, Seattle Seahawks’ defensive assistant Sean Desai, and former New Orleans Saints assistant Ryan Nielsen, who has since taken the DC job with the Atlanta Falcons.

There might be a really good reason for the silence, however.

According to Kevin Seifert of ESPN, the Vikings are waiting to see if they can get an interview with Ejiro Evero, who spent this past season as the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator. Evero is currently a candidate for the head coaching jobs in Arizona (along with Flores) and Indianapolis, but neither of those teams have made a final decision at this point in time. With Sean Payton set to take over in Denver, he might want to retain Evero, but there are a whole lot of moving parts there as well.

EDIT: It’s also worth noting that, because Evero is still under contract with the Broncos, they could block him from interviewing for other defensive coordinator jobs. They can’t prevent him from interviewing for head coaching positions.

The 42-year-old Evero has been in the coaching game since 2005, mostly in the National Football League, though he has held a couple of college positions as well. Since 2011, he’s been on the coaching staffs of the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, and Los Angeles Rams as well as the Broncos.

The Bronco’s defense was very good this past season, finishing 14th in the league in points allowed despite having to back up the league’s lowest-scoring offense. They were a top-ten defense in terms of yardage allowed.

With this being the case, it might be a while before the Vikings come to a final decision on their defensive coordinator job. It kind of seems like they want Flores in the building if he doesn’t wind up with the Arizona head coaching job, so they at least have to wait for that situation to shake out. And, honestly, who knows what Jim Irsay and company are doing in Indy?

The Vikings appear to have their sights set on a hot defensive coordinator candidate, but it might be a while before they know whether or not they can even get him to Eagan for an interview. If you’re waiting for breaking news on the Vikings’ defensive coordinator search, it sounds like you’re going to be waiting for a while.