With new coach Mike Zimmer now in charge of the Minnesota Vikings, players are going to need to fight for their starting positions. The safety position just became a bit more crowded with the signing of Kurt Coleman on Monday. Coleman played in 15 games last season with the Philadelphia Eagles and while he had just 14 tackles in 2013, he had 93 combined tackles during the 2012 season. Coleman will be 26 years old when the 2014 season begins and is a legitimate threat to take over one of the starting safety positions right away.
Coleman was a starter in Philadelphia before Chip Kelly took over at the team’s coach and Coleman lost his job there. He comes to a Minnesota secondary that returns Harrison Smith and Jamarca Sanford along with Andrew Sendejo so the team has four options for two starting spots. Zimmer is going to have a lot of options to work with now with Coleman in the fold.
The defense did need help on the back end after finishing 31st against the pass in 2013 but with the additions that the team has made including Captain Munnerlyn; those stats are likely going to be much better during the 2014 season. Even if Coleman doesn’t earn one of the starting spots for the Vikings, he becomes a very valuable piece on special teams and can jump right into the starting lineup if one of the starting safeties were to go down. Coleman definitely had a lot of fans in Philadelphia who will miss him.
It is going to be a new world for the Vikings in 2014 with Zimmer on board and with his vast experience on the defensive side of the ball. The Vikings are definitely loading up to make a run sooner than later in the NFC North. The NFL Draft is less than a month away now and that should bring in some more talent on both sides of the ball to improve a 4-12 team from last season. It is better to have too much depth than not enough good players especially in today’s NFL. Coleman has the ability to play both safety positions which makes him even more valuable. It will be interesting to see what Zimmer and company have planned.