Coaches

Bill Musgrave enters his 3rd season as Offensive Coordinator of the Vikings in 2013 and 21st NFL campaign overall as both a player and coach. The 2012 Vikings relied on a strong rushing offense to go 10-6 and earn an NFC Wild Card berth, highlighted by Adrian Peterson’s record-setting 2,097 yards, the 2nd-best single-season mark in NFL history. Peterson earned the NFL’s MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, becoming only the 3rd Viking to earn MVP, joining Alan Page in 1971 and Fran Tarkenton in 1975. The Vikings offense was represented at the Pro Bowl by Peterson, FB Jerome Felton, TE Kyle Rudolph and T Matt Kalil, with Rudolph taking home Pro Bowl MVP honors.

Peterson’s remarkable season set team and NFL records along the way, matching the Vikings single-season mark with 2,634 team rushing yards. Peterson set a new franchise rushing record, tied the team record with 10 games of 100+ rushing yards, tied an NFL record with 7 runs of 50+ yards in a season and broke the 200-yard mark in a game twice. The 2012 Vikings entered the season with a re-tooled offense line that featured new starters at RG (Brandon Fusco, 2nd year) and LT (Kalil, rookie) and a re-positioned starter at LG (Charlie Johnson from LT). The line started all 16 games and the playoff contest with the same 5 players intact. Vikings 2nd-year QB Christian Ponder started all 16 regular season games and progressed throughout the season, culminating with his best career game in the regular season finale vs. Green Bay, throwing for 3 TDs and a career-best 120.2 passer rating in the must-win game to earn an NFC Wild Card berth. Ponder made strides forward in his 1st full season as the starter, improving his passer rating by 11 points (81.2) and his completion percentage by nearly 8 points (64.2) and threw only 12 INTs in 483 attempts, an INT percentage of 2.5, both ranking in the Vikings top 10 for a season in team history.  

The 2012 Vikings passing game featured Rudolph hauling in 9 TDs to rank tied for 2nd in the NFL at his position and ranked 2nd in Vikings history by a TE. WR Percy Harvin led the team with 62 receptions despite missing the final 7 games of the season. Harvin averaged 6.8 receptions per game and scored TDs during the season by rushing, receiving and kickoff return.

The 2011 Vikings offense tallied 75 rushes of 10+ yards, keeping defenses off balance through creative personnel packages. Harvin’s role in the offense was greatly enhanced as the 3rd-year player set a career-high with 87 receptions, the 6th-most in the NFL for the season and 4th-most among WRs. Harvin set a Vikings record with 52 carries for 345 yards and 2 TDs on the ground, ranking among the NFL’s all-time leaders for rushing by a WR.

The Vikings moved 1st-round draft pick Ponder into the starting lineup for the final 10 games of the 2011 season and he immediately found a connection with fellow rookie Rudolph, who tied for 2nd on the club in TD catches and earned a spot on the Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie team. Ponder showed promise for the future by leading the NFL in red zone passing with a 114.3 passer rating and ranked among NFL leaders in 3rd-down accuracy. The Vikings turned to RB Toby Gerhart while Peterson recovered from injuries late in the season and the bruising back responded with his 1st career 100-yard day at Washington and rumbled for the Vikings longest run of the season with a 67-yarder in the game. The Vikings ground attack ranked #2 in yards per attempt in the NFL and #4 in the NFL in total yards rushing per game.

A former NFL signal-caller himself, Musgrave was a backup to Joe Montana and Steve Young in San Francisco from 1991-94, working under coaches Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak. Musgrave was a member of the 49ers club that won Super Bowl XXIX over San Diego following the 1994 season. He played from 1995-96 with Denver where he backed up John Elway when Shanahan took over the reins as Broncos head coach. Musgrave was originally drafted in the 4th round by Dallas in 1991.

During Musgrave’s coaching tenure with Atlanta from 2006-10, he helped mold the Falcons offense, highlighted by an impressive 2010 season, leading the way for a 13-3 regular season mark. QB Matt Ryan had a career-best 28 TDs, 91.0 passer rating, 3,705 yards and helped WR Roddy White lead the NFL with 115 catches and rank 2nd in the NFL with 1,389 yards. Ryan earned a Pro Bowl berth in 2010 and headed a group of 4 other Falcons offensive skill position players who were recognized as Pro Bowlers- White, RB Michael Turner, FB Ovie Mughelli and TE Tony Gonzalez.

Prior to coaching in Atlanta, Musgrave worked with the Redskins QBs in 2005 and tutored veteran Mark Brunell to a career-best 23 TD passes, helping Washington earn a playoff berth and road victory over NFC South Champion Tampa Bay. Musgrave worked with Jacksonville in 2003-04, serving as offensive coordinator as Fred Taylor broke the franchise rushing record with 1,572 yards on the ground in 2003 and followed in 2004 with 1,224 yards.

During the 1999 and 2000 campaigns, Musgrave worked with the QBs in Carolina and also served as offensive coordinator in 2000 under George Seifert. In 1999, Panthers QB Steve Beuerlein had a career-year, throwing for 36 TDs and 4,436 yards to finish with a passer rating of 94.6 and a Pro Bowl nod. The 1999 Carolina offense ranked 2nd in the NFL in passing and 4th in scoring. Musgrave’s first NFL coaching experience came at Oakland in 1997 when Al Davis hired him to coach the Raider QBs. Oakland starter Jeff George led the AFC that season with 29 TDs. The next season in Philadelphia in 1998, Musgrave served as offensive coordinator for the final 10 games of the season.

A 4-year starter at QB for Oregon from 1987-90, Musgrave was a 3-year team captain for the Ducks and led the team to consecutive bowl bids in 1989 and 1990. He established 15 school passing records and posted a 25-10 record as a starter. His 60 TD passes and 8,000+ passing yards made him the 2nd Pac-10 player behind John Elway to eclipse those numbers. After throwing for 382 yards and earning Anaheim Freedom Bowl MVP in 1990, Musgrave was selected to play in 3 post-season all-star games- the Japan Bowl, Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine Game in Palo Alto, CA. He was awarded the Joe Roth Memorial Outstanding Player Award after leading the West Squad to victory in the Japan Bowl. Musgrave was elected to the University of Oregon’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000.

A native of Grand Junction, CO, Musgrave was named Colorado High School Athlete of the Year for 1985-86 as well as being the recipient of the Denver Post’s Gold Helmet Award as the prep football player of the year. He was inducted into the state of Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.