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News | Minnesota Vikings – vikings.com

Vikings Hire Wes Phillips as New Offensive Coordinator

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EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings have a new offensive coordinator.

Minnesota announced Monday that it has hired Wes Phillips to serve in that role under new Head Coach Kevin O'Connell.

Phillips has spent the past three seasons with O'Connell in Los Angeles as the Rams tight ends coach. The 43-year-old added responsibilities as the passing game coordinator for this past season, which ended with Los Angeles winning Super Bowl LVI.

Phillips had a hand in overseeing the development of Rams tight end Tyler Higbee, who just completed his sixth NFL season and posted his best stats in the past three years.

Higbee recorded 500-plus receiving yards in each of the past three seasons, catching 13 total touchdowns in that span.

View photos of new Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips in photos from his time in the league.

Phillips was also crucial to Los Angeles' aerial attack in 2021 as the passing game coordinator. The Rams ranked fifth overall with 273.1 passing yards per game and third with 7.65 passing yards per play.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford tied a career high with 41 touchdown passes, and wide receiver Cooper Kupp led the NFL in catches (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16), becoming the fifth receiver to win the receiving Triple Crown during the Super Bowl era.

Phillips began his NFL career in Dallas and was a quality control/offensive assistant coach for the Cowboys from 2007-10.

He was then the Cowboys assistant offensive line coach from 2011-12 before spending the 2013 season as the tight ends coach in Dallas.

Phillips was Washington's tight ends coach from 2014-18, overlapping with O'Connell for his final two seasons there.

Phillips helped Jordan Reed become a Pro Bowler in 2016, and the tight end caught 21 total touchdowns from 2015-2018.

Phillips played quarterback for UTEP and was the starter for his senior season in 2001. He joined UTEP's football staff in 2003 as a student assistant before serving as the quarterbacks coach for West Texas A&M (2004-05) and for Baylor (2006).

Phillips is from a football family. His father, Wade, was a longtime NFL head coach and defensive coordinator who won Super Bowl 50 with Denver as the Broncos defensive coordinator. Wade was interim head coach of the Saints in 1985, head coach of the Broncos (1993-94), Bills (1998-2000) and Cowboys (2007-10). He also served as the interim head coach of the Falcons (2003) and Texans (2013). Wade was the Broncos defensive coordinator from 2015-16 and held the same role with the Rams from 2017-19.

Wes Phillips' grandfather, Bum, was the head coach for the Oilers (1975-80) and Saints (1981-85).

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