Coaches

George Stewart enters his 7th season on the Vikings staff in 2013 and his 25th season of NFL coaching.

The Vikings WR corps benefits from Stewart’s decades of experience and ability to put players in the best situations to succeed.

The 2012 squad was forced to groom new talent to contribute to the passing game after leading receiver Percy Harvin was sidelined for the final 7 games. Stewart prepared rookie Jarius Wright to step into action in Harvin’s absence and catch 22 passes in the final 7 games with a pair of TDs and reel in the longest Vikings pass plays of the season- a 65-yarder vs. Green Bay (12/30) and a 54-yard grab vs. Detroit (11/11) on his 1st career reception. Savvy veteran Michael Jenkins ranked 3rd on the team with 40 catches and had a pair of TDs.

Over the years, Stewart has been a part of successful programs, highlighted by 8 playoff appearances in the past 15 seasons and 3 NFC Championship games with San Francisco in 1997, Atlanta in 2004 and Minnesota in 2009. Recently, Stewart helped win 4 Division titles in the past 10 seasons – consecutive NFC North titles with Minnesota in 2008 and 2009, winning the NFC South with Atlanta in 2004 and an NFC West title in 2002 with San Francisco.

During his Vikings tenure, Stewart has coached Harvin to 2009 Rookie of the Year honors and Sidney Rice to a Pro Bowl berth in 2009.  The 2011 season saw Harvin’s production increase even more, as he set career-highs in receptions with 87 and receiving yards with 967. He also tied his career-high for receiving TDs with 6. His 87 receptions ranked 6th in the NFL. Harvin also set team-records for most rushing yards in a season by a WR with 345 and most career rushing yards by a WR with 587.

The 2009 Vikings became only the 2nd team in NFL history to have 6 players catch 40+ passes in a season. Rice enjoyed a breakout season and Harvin established himself as multi-talented offensive threat. Rice’s 1,312 yards ranked 2nd in the NFC in 2009 and he became only the 4th Vikings WR in team history to eclipse the 1,300-yard mark. Rice’s 201 yards vs. Detroit ranks as the 4th-best single-game mark in Vikings history.

Stewart was able to get Harvin acclimated to the pro game and spurred him to NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Year. Harvin tied for the NFL rookie lead in receptions and yards. Harvin excelled on offense and special teams, earning a Pro Bowl berth as a return man and setting a new Vikings record with 2,081 total net yards. His 60 catches ranked 2nd only to Randy Moss’ 1998 debut season when he had 69 receptions in Vikings history for rookie catches.

In 2008, the Vikings WRs contributed to much of the success of an improved passing attack. The Vikings led the NFL with 13 TDs through the air of 20+ yards. Berrian had a career year, setting highs in yards with 964 and TDs with 7.

Throughout Stewart’s coaching career, he has been fortunate to learn from some of the game’s all-time greats, beginning both his playing and early coaching careers under college legend Lou Holtz. Stewart went on to work in the NFL side-by-side with Chuck Noll, Sam Wyche, George Seifert and Dan Reeves, all men who led teams to the Super Bowl. 

During Stewart’s tenure in Atlanta, the team won the NFC South title in 2004 and advanced to the NFC Championship game against Philadelphia.  

Prior to joining Atlanta, Stewart was an integral part of the San Francisco 49ers’ success from 1996-2002, as the team advanced to the playoffs 5 times in those 7 seasons. In 1997, the 49ers won the NFC West with a 13-3 mark and eventually lost to Green Bay in the NFC Championship game. Stewart tutored Terrell Owens, J.J. Stokes and Tai Streets, with Owens making Pro Bowls and All-Pro in 3 straight seasons from 2000-02. Owens had 17 games over the 100-yard receiving mark and 5 games with 150+ yards. He broke a 50-year-old NFL record when he caught 20 passes for 283 yards against the Bears in 2000 en route to his career-best day.

Stewart’s 1st taste of NFL coaching came in Pittsburgh from 1989-91, where he coached special teams on Noll’s staff. In his debut season in 1989, he helped Rod Woodson to a Pro Bowl as a return man. Following Pittsburgh, Stewart went on to spend 4 years coaching Tampa Bay special teams, where he helped K Mike Husted earn All-Rookie honors in 1993.

Before making the move to the NFL, Stewart spent several years in the college ranks, making his final stop as the Notre Dame LBs coach from 1986-88. Under Holtz’s tutelage, the Irish steadily improved from the coach’s opening season in ‘86 to become national champions in 1988, a year in which the team finished 12-0 and defeated West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.

Stewart and Holtz began working together in 1983, when Stewart got his start in coaching as an Arkansas graduate assistant, working with the Razorbacks’ TEs. When Holtz moved from Arkansas to Minnesota as the Golden Gophers head coach in 1984, Stewart accompanied him as the offensive line coach, his 1st exposure to the state where he would return in 2007. In 2 short seasons, Holtz and his staff quickly turned the Gophers program around, finishing 7-5 in 1985 and winning the Independence Bowl over Clemson, the 1st bowl victory for the Gophers since the 1962 Rose Bowl.

Stewart was a standout guard for the Razorbacks from 1977-80 and helped the squad share the 1979 Southwest Conference title. The team played in 4 straight bowl games during Stewart’s playing tenure as Arkansas returned to national prominence under Holtz. Stewart was an All-SWC honoree as a junior in 1979, served as a team captain in 1980 and earned a spot on the Arkansas Team of the Decade for the 1970s. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1981 but spent the season on injured reserve.

Stewart has a bachelor’s degree in education from Arkansas and is a native of Little Rock, AR, where he graduated from Parkview High School in 1977.