The Vikings' new-school vision of a shared ownership between players and coaches continued to unfold Thursday at TCO Performance Center as coach Kevin O'Connell introduced three coordinators he feels can develop, teach, lead, motivate and, just as importantly, collaborate with today's NFL player.
O'Connell praised each of them and then stepped aside as 65-year-old defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, 43-year-old offensive coordinator Wes Phillips and 32-year-old special teams coordinator Matt Daniels spent a lot of the next 45 minutes explaining the importance of coaches evolving to maximize player performance.
"I know that times change," said Phillips, who followed O'Connell from the Super Bowl-champion Rams staff. "There was a time when you could probably walk up and kick a player in the butt, and that was accepted. I'm glad we've changed in some of those aspects. There was coaching from fear in a lot of ways."
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