Adrian Peterson was not lying when he said he would be watching the offseason moves of the Minnesota Vikings very closely. The running back was not thrilled when head coach Leslie Frazier got fired despite his success in the previous season. Now, the Vikings have a new head coach and new coordinator in Norv Turner, making Peterson very happy with the direction of the team.
The Vikings hired Turner away from the Cleveland Browns to take over the offense in 2014. Minnesota is certainly in a transition phase when it comes to offense. The team has yet to figure out an answer for their quarterback situation. It appears that former starter Christian Ponder will be released along with third-string backup Josh Freeman. The team looks poised to draft a rookie for the open spot which could set Minnesota back a bit. However, Peterson believes Turner if the offensive mind that can get the Vikings wins no matter what.
"I'll tell you, our pass offense has really struggled in the past couple years," Peterson said, via USA TODAY Sports. "I think (Turner) is going to be the perfect guy to come in and get us on the right path." "He's a brilliant mind, obviously. I'm still sitting back and seeing whatever moves we make as far as coaches and players."
Peterson is not wrong about the Vikings' pass offense. Minnesota has not ranked better than 23rd in passing yards since having Brett Favre in the offense back in 2009. They have spent four years in quarterback flux rotating everyone in from Ponder to Joe Webb to even Donvan McNabb. The running back remains hopeful that Turner can really help turn things around while also opening up the run game for him.
Turner is very aware of what Peterson can do. The running back has helped the Vikings stay as one of the top-10 rushing teams in the league for the past four years, but the lack of balance in the offense is what is killing the win totals. While Turner has been known as a pass-first type of coordinator, he has had much success get offenses back to a balanced state. With Peterson in the backfield, that should not be an issue once again.
Peterson's praise of the Turner hire should make Minnesota fans rest a bit easier. Trade rumors have been circulating around the running back ever since he expressed his unhappiness with the way Frazier was treated. While many teams would love to offer Minnesota a lot in return for the reigning NFL MVP, general manager Rick Spielman told ProFootballTalk that his running back is going nowhere.
"Adrian is not going anywhere," Spielman said. "We have him under contract. He's the face of our franchise. He is a blue-chip player. And we have a new coaching staff in place, and (the Vikings are) very excited about what's coming ahead for us."
