Inside The Vikings

Vikings Hire Ex-NFL QB Josh McCown as Quarterbacks Coach

McCown was the Panthers' QB coach last season.

Will Ragatz

Vikings Hire Ex-NFL QB Josh McCown as Quarterbacks Coach
Vikings Hire Ex-NFL QB Josh McCown as Quarterbacks Coach /
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The Vikings have hired former NFL journeyman QB Josh McCown as their quarterbacks coach, the team announced on Tuesday. Chris O'Hara, who held that role last year, has been named their pass game specialist.

McCown, 44, spent last season working with Bryce Young and Andy Dalton as the Panthers' QB coach. He began his career coaching at the high school ranks and interviewed multiple times for the Texans' head coach vacancy, though he wasn't hired either time. 

The Texas native was a third-round pick in the 2002 draft and had a playing career that spanned 12 NFL teams and nearly two decades. He appeared in 102 games in his career, starting 76 of them. A prolific journeyman, he threw at least ten touchdown passes in a season six times — for six different teams. McCown was with the Browns in 2015 when Kevin O'Connell got his first coaching job as Cleveland's quarterbacks coach. That team's head coach was Mike Pettine, who is also on O'Connell's staff as the assistant head coach.

Interestingly, McCown has a couple ties to some potential Vikings quarterback options this offseason. He was an assistant coach at Myers Park High School in Charlotte in 2019 when Drake Maye was the quarterback there. Maye went on to star at UNC and is the projected No. 2 or 3 overall pick in this year's draft. McCown also shares an agent, Mike McCartney, with Kirk Cousins.

As far as assistant coach hires go, this is an interesting one.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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