Vikings fire offensive coordinator after bad Seattle loss

The Vikings have fired their offensive coordinator after two lackluster games hobbled their bid to return to the NFL playoffs.

John DiFillipo was relieved of his duties running the Vikings offense, the team said on Twitter Tuesday following a bad 21-7 loss Monday night to the Seattle Seahawks in which the Vikings were shut out for most of the game.

Quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski will be the new coordinator and will take over calling plays for the offense.

DiFillipo was the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles when they trounced the Vikings in last year's NFC championship and went on to win the Super Bowl. He succeeded Pat Shurmur, who left the Vikings to be head coach of the New York Giants this season.

DiFilippo's firing comes as the Vikings cling to a half-game lead for the lowest-ranking wild card spot in this season's playoffs, with three other teams poised to overtake them. Despite the urgency and a highly paid veteran quarterback, the Vikings didn't score in a loss to Seattle last night until the final two minutes.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was expected to speak on the changes later Tuesday afternoon.

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