Jared Allen Wants An Interview To Be The Vikings Head Coach

Should Minnesota give former All Pro defensive end Jared Allen a shot at the head coaching position.

SKOR North @SKORNorth

HELL YEAH: Jared Allen wants the Minnesota #Vikings to know he's still awaiting his head coaching interview... 👀🤠

January 20th 2022

75 Retweets1,367 Likes

My Minnesota Vikings are currently in the hunt for a new head coach and general manager and have been interviewing various candidates. For this article, I’ll focus more on the head coach search.

Thus far, the organization has interviewed Philadelphias defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, the Cowboys offensive and defensive coordinators Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore, and the Packers offensive coordinator Nathanial Hackett among others.

Minnesota Vikings @Vikings

We have completed an interview with Green Bay Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett for our open Head Coach position. 📰: mnvkn.gs/3qweXNU

January 16th 2022

117 Retweets1,291 Likes

One name not on the list of people that have been or are scheduled to be interviewed is former All Pro pass rusher Jared Allen. On an Instagram post from the Vikings about the interview of Kellen Moore for head coach, Allen dropped a comment that a lot of fans liked. “Still awaiting my interview. Ya’ll have my contact info. #vikesforlike #skol”.

Now this would be interesting. Allen was a beloved member of the Vikings when he was here and was a dominant pass rusher, but I’m not too sure how he’d perform as a coach.

Allen does seem like the fan friendly option though.

Alexis Rae @lexyarnold

JARED ALLEN AS @Vikings HEAD COACH?! DONE #skol @JaredAllen69

January 20th 2022

8 Retweets280 Likes

Melissa Berman @Melissa_Berman

If a devoted Vikes alum like Jared Allen legitimately wants a job in the organization, he should be given one or one created for him

January 20th 2022

14 Likes

Some fans just want Allen to be a part of the organization which I’m all for. He seems to understand the culture that fans want of a mix of gritty guys on the offensive line and in the front seven, but have flashy big time players in the secondary and out wide.

Now look, before I break down why I think Allen shouldn’t be the head guy, I want to note that Allen was one of the first few players in the league that I became a fan of and is part of the reason that I’m a Vikings fan. If it weren’t for him and Adrian Peterson being the players they were, I’d never become a fan of the Vikings and wallow in disappointment year after year.

First off is the obvious reason. Allen has no experience coaching. I’m not arguing against bringing Allen on the staff as a defensive line coach or to help on the defensive side of the ball in general, but a head coach with zero coaching experience is bound to fail.

Minnesota needs a guy to take a very talented roster and win now. They have a top five back and a top three receiving duo with a talented defensive line that needs a coach to correctly game plan to their skills.

The other reason I wouldn’t hire Allen as the head coach is because of the other candidates that are available. If it was my choice, I’d hire either Brian Flores, Nathaniel Hackett, or Kellen Moore. Flores would be a great guy to jumpstart an aging Vikings defense while Moore or Hackett would be able to use every ounce of Jefferson and Cook in the right way.

This offseason has a plethora of head coaching candidates that makes it feel like you’re at an all you can eat buffet. There is an abundance of options.

I do hope whoever comes in as the head coach or general manager pull the trigger on hiring Allen in some capacity, but I would pass on having him run the team. At least for now. Maybe down the line Allen would be a good candidate, but he needs some experience under his belt.