#mike priefer

2014 is a year of new beginnings for the Vikings.  The 2013 season was a difficult year for the Vikings, who had a 5-10-1 record was the word in the NFC North.  The season was the third in the last four where the Vikings had 10 or more losses.

Since the start of this century (2000) the Vikings have scratched together ten or more wins in just four of the 14 seasons, making the playoffs just 33 percent of the time.  The Vikings will be looking to shed the last decade and a half as they break ties with many relics from the era.

The city of Minneapolis said goodbye to the Metrodome after the final game of the 2013 Vikings season against the Detroit Lions on December 29, 2013.  On January 18 the dismantling of the “dome” started, making way for the new Vikings stadium scheduled to be ready for the 2016 season.

The Vikings also parted ways with several key figures in the organization over the last few years, losing half of the defensive line to free agency as Jared Allen went to the Chicago Bears and Kevin Williams signed with the Seattle Seahawks.  The team also parted ways with head coach Leslie Frazier and many of the coaching staff over the off-season.

So what do Vikings fans have to look forward to?  Stay tuned for articles highlighting our anticipated top story lines of the season.

The end of the Metrodome era of Vikings football.

A great 2014 rookie class including first round picks Anthony Barr and Teddy Bridgewater.

The emergence of a star as 2013 first round draft pick Cordarrelle Patterson continues to grow into his role with the team.

The new coaching staff – how will they change the playbook?  New head coach Mike Zimmer and new offensive coordinator Norv Turner appear to be more open than the last coaching regime.  The senior member of the coaching staff that returned is special teams coaching phenom Mike Priefer, who weathered some offseason controversy and is looking forward to working with his young special teams players to improve on an impressive last two seasons.

How will the Vikings use Adrian Peterson in Norv Turner’s offence.

The Minnesota Vikings will report to Makato, Minnesota for the first practice of the 2014 preseason on July 25, 2014.  The training camp is free and open to the public.  The schedule can be found here. Fans can attend autograph sessions, and there are many activities for Vikings fans to take in at the training camp.

Stay tuned to Examiner.com and The Minnesota Sports Report for news from the 2014 Vikings season. Click on the photos below to see highlights from the 2013 season including a photo of the Metrodome from the last game in the dome and a photo of 2013 rookie Cordarrelle Patterson returning a kickoff for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers.

In Chris Kluwe's time with the Minnesota Vikings, he was a player that was known more for his activities off the field rather than on. His stances on various human rights issues have positive intentions but some of his methods in promoting his stances have rubbed some people the wrong way. 

Based on Kluwe's past behaviors, he most likely doesn't care if people agree with his methods or not. However, he should know that not everyone will agree with his stances, including his employer. So the Vikings release of Kluwe before the start of the 2013 season should not have come to a surprise to Chris.

Kluwe was a solid punter during his time in the Minnesota and he has stated that his numbers were among the league leaders at the time of his release. However, the actual numbers tend to disagree.

In his first 4 seasons in Minnesota, Kluwe had an average league ranking of 11th in punt average and 12th in punts inside the 20. In his last two seasons as a Viking before his release, his rankings were 18th in punt average and 25th in punts inside the 20. He might want to check his own stats before he makes any more numbers based statements.

Like any other employer in the United States, the Vikings make decisions that are based on the best interest of their organization. Kluwe's play was clearly descending and Minnesota felt they needed to move in another direction. His activism was also starting to become a distraction off the field and his decrease in play made his antics less tolerable. 

I just read everything I could get my hands on about Chris Kluwe and his untimely departure from the NFL and I just need someone to answer me one question just so I have everything straight in my head.

Vikings retain counsel to look into Kluwe charges (Yahoo Sports) http://newscenterd.com/vikings-retain-counsel-to-look-into-kluwe-charges-yahoo-sports

Vikings retain counsel to look into Kluwe charges (Yahoo Sports)

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The Minnesota Vikings have retained a former chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and a former federal trial attorney to conduct an investigation into Chris Kluwe’s allegations that he was released from the team due to his support of gay marriage. Former Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court Eric Magnuson and former Justice Department attorney Chris Madel will lead the investigation. ”It is extremely important for the Vikings organization to react immediately and comprehensively with an independent review of these allegations,” team President Mark Wilf said in a statement Friday, one day after Kluwe penned an article alleging that special teams coordinator Mike Priefer made anti-gay comments during team meetings.