Place of birth: Cleveland, Ohio | Name Mike Priefer | |
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Position: Special teams coordinator Date of birth: (1966-08-21) August 21, 1966 (age 49) College United States Naval Academy | ||
Vikings' Mike Priefer Apologizes For Homophobic Slur
Mike Priefer (born August 21, 1966) is an American football special teams coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He has at almost two decades of pro coaching experience.
Contents
- Vikings Mike Priefer Apologizes For Homophobic Slur
- Early years
- Coaching career
- Minnesota Vikings
- References
Priefer has held coaching positions for Navy, Youngstown State, Virginia Military Institute, and Northern Illinois at the college level. He has also been an assistant for the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL and has held coaching positions for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Giants.
Early years
Priefer is the son of Chuck Priefer, a retired NFL coach and special teams coordinator. He attended the United States Naval Academy, and then joined the United States Navy, serving from 1991 to 1994. He was stationed in the Persian Gulf as a helicopter pilot. He played quarterback and wide receiver at Navy.
Coaching career
For the 2002 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Priefer as a Special Teams Coordinator to replace Frank Gansz. At the end of the season, Tom Coughlin, at the time the Head Coach of the Jaguars, was fired and replaced with Jack Del Rio while Priefer was replaced with Bill Bates
Priefer moved to the NFC East New York Giants in 2003. He worked with head coach Jim Fassel during the 2003 season, and during the 2004 season with new head coach, Tom Coughlin.
Between 2006 and 2008, Priefer coached for the Kansas City Chiefs. He then moved to the Denver Broncos in the AFC.
Minnesota Vikings
In 2011 Priefer was hired as Special Teams Coach for the Minnesota Vikings.
In 2014 Priefer was suspended for three weeks after making a homophobic remark, and former punter Chris Kluwe threatened to sue the Vikings. He underwent sensitivity training before returning to work.
In 2016, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer had emergency eye surgery, and Priefer was named the head coach for the week 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Vikings lost 17-15.