MINNEAPOLIS -- Pat Shurmur's influence on the Minnesota Vikings' offense dates back to last January, when the former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator became the Vikings' tight ends coach with something of an understanding that his influence would go beyond his position group.
Coach Mike Zimmer said he'd hired Shurmur and offensive line coach Tony Sparano -- another former head coach and offensive coordinator -- in part for their insight on the offense as a whole, adding he could have found an ordinary position coach anywhere. And as Shurmur said this past Friday, the Vikings had started to implement some of the ideas from his previous offenses before he became the interim offensive coordinator in the wake of Norv Turner's resignation last November.