Minnesota Vikings: Top 3 candidates to replace Mike Zimmer if he’s out

Minnesota Vikings coaching candidate No. 2: Todd Bowles

While Kellen Moore is a younger option with limited experience and an offensive background, Todd Bowles is the exact opposite. The 58-year-old Bowles has been coaching since 1997 when he was a defensive coordinator at Morehouse College.

He worked his way into the NFL in 2000 as the secondary coach with the New York Jets. He returned to Gang Green in 2015 as the head coach but there were several stops in between. That included spending time with the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles where he was an interim coach at each spot when they made changes to their coaching staff.

Once back in New York, Bowles had success with a 10-6 record in his first season. He then started to trend in the wrong direction as they won just five games in each of the next two seasons and four in 2018 before he was let go.

There were plenty of supporters who pointed to the issues at quarterback as a reason for Bowles not working out. On top of that, players have always seemed to love him.

Still, it’s a results-based business and Bowles was losing in New York so they moved on. He did as well, landing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a defensive coordinator, where he reminded the world how talented he is.

Bowles has coached a top-five defense in each of the past two seasons and held the Kansas City Chiefs to just nine points in their Super Bowl win. He deserves another shot and if Minnesota wants someone who can fix their defense, this could be the guy.