Seattle Seahawks Associate HC Pulls Out of Contention for Minnesota Vikings DC Opening

Seattle Seahawks associate head coach Sean Desai appears to be narrowing down his choices for his next job. According to 9News' Mike Kliss, the veteran coach has withdrawn himself from consideration for the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator opportunity and will instead focus on landing a job with the Denver Broncos.

Not only have Broncos requested interview for Seattle associate HC Sean Desai for DC but Desai has withdrawn from consideration for MIN DC job, per source.
Desai interviewed w/Vikings last wk. Wants to concentrate on DEN. Vic Fangio recommended Denver to Desai. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) February 3, 2023

Desai joined the Seahawks in 2021 and contributed to a surprising Wildcard Round playoff berth, but that was largely due to their offense; the defense ranked 25th in points allowed and 26th in yards allowed. Before that, he coached for Chicago Bears defense in a variety of roles from 2013 to 2021, culminating in a defensive coordinator position in 2021. The Bears ranked sixth in yards allowed, but 22nd in points allowed that season.

Desai doesn't have a particularly exciting resume as a defensive coach, but the Broncos already have a strong base in place: they ranked seventh in yards allowed in 2022. As for the Vikings, they'll need to find another candidate to fix an abysmal defense that ranked 28th in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed. At 39 years old, Desai is a relatively young coach, and he has likely correctly discerned that he has a better chance of fielding a quality squad in Denver than just about anywhere else. A strong year or two with the Broncos could position him for a future head coaching opportunity.