MINNEAPOLIS (AP) —e Zimmer was hired has frequently lacked the scoring punch to keep up with the rest of the league.Coincidentally or not Xavier Rhodes Jersey , continuity has been missing, too.The Vikings announced Wednesday the appointment of Kevin Stefanski as their offensive coordinator, avoiding another offseason of transition under Zimmer while leaning on the longest-tenured member of the coaching staff to help unearth more production from quarterback Kirk Cousins.“Kevin is a smart young coach with a bright future,” Zimmer said in a statement distributed by the team. He added: “His work ethic and teaching ability have been obvious to me behind the scenes since I came here five years ago. He’s well respected by coaches and players both, and I know he’s up to the task.”Stefanski was promoted Dec. 11 as the interim replacement for John DeFilippo, who was fired in his first season on the job with the offense in a severe slump. Stefanski’s contract expired Tuesday, and in the meantime he was a candidate to be Cleveland’s head coach. The Browns, instead, picked their interim offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens .The 36-year-old Stefanski Mike Remmers Jersey , who joined the Vikings in 2006 as an assistant to coach Brad Childress, has coached tight ends, running backs and quarterbacks for the team. He’ll be the fourth offensive coordinator in six seasons for Zimmer, following Norv Turner, Pat Shurmur and DeFilippo. Shurmur tried to hire Stefanski a year ago when he became head coach of the New York Giants, but Zimmer turned down the request.Vikings players were happy to have him back. During his three-game stint, Stefanski drew praise for simplifying the playbook and not displaying any panic in his first foray as a play caller. In his first game, the Vikings scored a season-high 41 points in a victory over Miami, though they stumbled again in the final week against Chicago and missed the playoffs.The Vikings were 19th in the NFL in points and 20th in yards this season Riley Reiff Jersey , after finishing 10th and 11th respectively under Shurmur in 2017. Those were the highest rankings under Zimmer, the only time they’ve cracked the top 15 in either category in five years.Cousins, who signed a three-year, $84 million contract that’s fully guaranteed, had career highs in touchdown passes (30) and completion rate (70.1 percent) but struggled to help the Vikings move the ball in several critical games.“I was thrilled to hear that he’d be back,” Cousins said in a statement distributed by the team. “We feel like the continuity is very important, not only for me at the quarterback position but for our entire offense.” He got his first opportunity to talk with the Twin Cities media"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Vikings 2018 SeasonVikings 2019 OffseasonU.S. Bank StadiumMinnesota Vikings PodcastsMinnesota Vikings 2019 NFL DraftTranscript: Conference Call with Minnesota Vikings sixth-round pick Marcus Epps He got his first opportunity to talk with the Twin Cities mediaCDTShareTweetShareShareTranscript: Conference Call with Minnesota Vikings sixth-round pick Marcus Epps Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY SportsContinuing with our series of transcripts of conference calls with the Minnesota Vikings’ 2019 NFL Draft class, here is the call that was held with one of the Vikings’ three sixth-round selections, Wyoming defensive back Marcus Epps. Enjoy!I’d like to start by saying thank you to the Wilf family Latavius Murray Jersey , Mr. [Rick] Spielman and Coach [Mike] Zimmer for taking this chance on me and giving me this opportunity. I am so excited to be a Minnesota Viking. I can’t wait to get up there and go to work and do whatever the team needs me to do.Q: What was this day like for you just waiting to get picked?A: It was a long process. Took a while but in the end it worked out. I went to the team I wanted to go to. Everything worked out perfectly.Q: Did you head in thinking you’d be drafted today and why is this the team you wanted to go to?A: Going into the draft, I had thought about sixth or seventh round or possibly undrafted. Just throughout the process you hear everything so you never really know. It’s unknown where you’re going to go but I had a lot of good conversations with Coach Jeff Howard. He liked me a lot and really believed in me so I knew he was pulling for me. I had real good conversations with him and Coach [Jerry] Gray. I am glad to be a Viking.Q: What did it mean to you as a walk-on to be a three-time captain in school history?A: It means a lot. To be able to lead such a great group of guys for not one or two, but three years. It was incredible that they thought of me as a captain of their team for so many years.Q: What type of experience do you have with special teams?A: Early in my career, I played a lot of special teams at Wyoming. As my years went on, they tried to phase me out a little bit more. I am definitely looking forward to playing special teams and helping the team in any way that I can.Q: How did you end up there as a walk-in?A: I didn’t have anybody recruiting me so I was thinking of going the junior college route but I had some connections. Somebody sent my film up there really late in the process. They ended up liking me but it was too late to offer a scholarship so they asked me to walk on.Q: What was it like making the switch from Los Angeles to Wyoming?A: It was different but it wasn’t anything that I couldn’t handle. I wasn’t worried about where I was at or anything like that. I was just worried about playing ball. That is what I love to do and Wyoming is the place that gave me the opportunity to do that. I wasn’t really concerned with where I was at or the culture change or anything like that. I just wanted to play ball.Q: How did your son, Braxton, change your outlook on life?A: It changed tremendously. You go from more of just thinking about taking care of yourself to taking care of another human. It’s definitely been different but it’s been a beautiful thing as well just watching him grow.Q: Do you look at this as an opportunity to prove people wrong?A: Yeah, definitely. He loves going to the facility. All my teammates love him and he loves to play with all of them. He plays inside the facility since he likes that so it’s been great.Q: Do you look at this as an opportunity to prove people wrong?A: A little bit. But that chip is always on your shoulder. I am just more looking forward to proving the Minnesota Vikings organization right and proving myself right and to all the people who believed in me.Q: Do you feel the pro day process helped you get noticed more?A: Definitely. Just going into the whole process of pro day I knew I had to do something to make people go back and watch my film. I worked really hard at EXOS down in Los Angeles and they got me ready to perform like that.Q: What skill do you think it was you showed you could do that you will need at the NFL?A: My versatility or my football IQ. I feel like I can play different positions anywhere the team needs me or wants me to play. I am willing to put the work in and get it done.