A former Vikings defensive coach is being honored this summer in Canton, Ohio.
From 2004-05, Ted Cottrell was tasked with leading the defense in Mike Tice's final two seasons at the helm. The former resulted in a trip to the Divisional Round of the playoffs and the latter a 20-spot jump in takeaways, from 25th to 5th in the NFL, largely thanks to the league's second-most interceptions (24).
Cottrell spent 24 seasons with six NFL franchises and was chosen in conjunction with late former 49ers offensive line coach Bobb McKittrick and former Dolphins and Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff to receive an "Award of Excellence" for assistant coaches from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in June.
Mark Craig of the Minnesota Star Tribune highlighted the 78-year-old Cottrell this week. Below is an excerpt from the start of Craig's story that captures Cottrell in a humbled but good way on a bad day:
Until recently, this reporter hadn't spoken to Ted Cottrell since the evening of Nov. 4, 2007.
Ted was outside the visiting locker room at the Metrodome. As San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator, he had just been swept up in a perfect storm the likes of which had never been seen in the NFL before or since.
Adrian Peterson, a force of nature in his eighth NFL game, posted a record 296 yards rushing for the Vikings that day. With Cottrell's defense missing key players at all three levels by halftime, Peterson ran 17 times in the second half for 253 yards, a 14.9-yard average per carry.
Cottrell, gracious as ever, was done explaining the fiasco when he started walking the wrong way toward where he thought the team buses were waiting. Having been the Vikings defensive coordinator from 2004-05, Cottrell was used to turning that way out of the locker room.
"Ted," the reporter called out, sheepishly. "You're going the wrong way."
Cottrell shook his head as he turned and slowly walked back. Putting his hand on the reporter's shoulder, he smiled and said, "It's been that kind of day."
Fortunately for Cottrell, he has always been a survivor. A guy who has had a lot more good days in football than bad ones.
The Hall of Fame honor for Cottrell signifies there's absolutely no doubt about that.
Read Craig's piece on the former Vikings defensive coordinator, who is currently out of football but is hoping to put "a lot of football knowledge up in this big, old head of mine" to use as an adviser, here.
'Gilly Lock' calls it a career
For more than a decade, Stephon Gilmore locked up some of the game's biggest stars.
Now, the No. 10 overall pick from the 2012 draft is stepping into a new phase of life. Gilmore last Thursday shared his retirement from the NFL, writing "I cannot wait to see what this next chapter holds."
Gilmore joined the Vikings, reuniting with Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores, in 2024 training camp after Minnesota was put in a bind at the cornerback position (Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL on the first day a couple of weeks after rookie Khyree Jackson tragically passed away in a car wreck in early July).
The overlap with Flores, who coached Gilmore for several seasons in New England, as well as the corner's professionalism made a seamless transition. Gilmore started all 15 games he played, nabbed one pick and offered invaluable leadership to a defense that led the league in takeaways while winning 14 games. His interception came overseas in London off Aaron Rodgers and sealed a win over the Jets.
Afterward, Gilmore took to X and referenced three legends he denied:
Gilmore didn't play for another club following his stint in Minnesota. Over the course of 13 seasons (2012-24), primarily with Buffalo (2012-16) and New England (2017-20), he defended the second-most passes (140) and picked off the seventh-most (32) in the NFL. He also played for Carolina (2021), Indianapolis (2022) and Dallas (2023) before answering the bell and rekindling with Flores on the Vikings.
The pinnacle of Gilmore's career occurred in 2018-19 when he compiled 40 pass breakups, eight interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns, and 98 tackles. He was a First-Team All-Pro in each season, and he received the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Award from The Associated Press.
Overall, Gilmore's 32 interceptions rank in the Top 30 dating to 2000 and his PBUs rank 10th since then. He was elected to the Pro Bowl five times (2016, 2018-21), and he played longer than every first-rounder in his class except guard Kevin Zeitler (No. 27 pick; 14 seasons) and Vikings safety Harrison Smith (No. 29; 14).
While he is best remembered as a Bills first-round draft pick and the stalwart of the Patriots secondary when they won Super Bowl LIII over the Los Angeles Rams — Gilmore’s INT in the final minutes of that game sealed the sixth and final championship of New England's dynasty — "Gilly Lock" also effectively endeared himself to the Purple fanbase at 34 years old and, for me, was a joy to cover two seasons ago.
Hats off to a professional career that's 100 percent worthy of Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration.
View 2026 Free Agency Tracker.
See the Vikings 2026 Opponents.
Check out the Vikings 2026 Draft Picks.
View future opponents for the Vikings.
Buy single game tickets.
Download the official Vikings App.
