They say it takes one to know one, and the Vikings wide receivers will be learning from one of the best.
The Vikings have hired former Jaguars wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell to hold the same position in Minnesota, the team announced Tuesday.
McCardell joined Jacksonville in 2017. Prior to that, he served as the wide receivers coach for Washington from 2010-11. He then led the position at the University of Maryland from 2014-15, where he coached former Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs for a season. Under McCardell's tutelage, Diggs recorded 62 catches for 792 yards and five touchdowns in 2014; he was then snagged in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by Minnesota.
In Jacksonville, McCardell helped DJ Chark – who played with 2019 Vikings first-round pick Justin Jefferson at LSU – go from 174 yards as a rookie in 2018 to 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns the following season. In 2020, Chark totaled 706 yards and five scores. McCardell also worked with talented receivers such as Keenan Cole, Chris Conley and Dede Westbrook.
View the best wide receiver photos from the 2020 season from Vikings photographers.
Vikings receivers Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson expressed excitement over the McCardell hire.
"I'm so eager to get going and work with Keenan," Thielen said. "Having to chance to learn from somebody with his experience is going to help all of us in the receiver room. I can't explain how happy I am about this hire."
Jefferson, who finished his debut season with an NFL-rookie-record 1,400 yards receiving, is equally eager to learn from a coach of McCardell's caliber.
"I've talked with Keenan a few times, and he's already had great advice for me," Jefferson said. "Knowing all he's accomplished on the field and knowing a few of the guys he's coached before, we definitely got a great coach and our group is ready to take advantage of that."
Long before he shifted to coaching, McCardell put together quite the NFL résumé himself.
Originally a 12th-round draft pick by Washington in 1991, McCardell went on to play 17 seasons in the league. He spent that season on Injured Reserve as Washington won Super Bowl XXVI in Minnesota but landed in Cleveland to play for the Browns from 1992-95. McCardell then joined the Jaguars (1996-01), Buccaneers (2002-03) and Chargers (2004-06). He started the 2007 offseason with Houston before re-joining Washington for his final season.
McCardell earned two Pro Bowl nods (1996 and 2003) during his playing career and caught two touchdowns from former Vikings QB Brad Johnson in Super Bowl XXXVII to help the Bucs defeat the Raiders 48-21.
McCardell finished his NFL playing career with 883 catches for 11,373 yards and 63 touchdowns. He turned 51 last month.
The Vikings wide receivers were coached in 2020 by Andrew Janocko, who will remain on Minnesota's coaching staff but is transitioning to quarterbacks coach.
Janocko originally joined the Vikings in 2015 as an offensive quality control coach, a role he held for two seasons under Head Coach Mike Zimmer. In 2017, he served as the assistant offensive line coach to Tony Sparano, who tragically passed away in July 2018. Janocko stepped into a role as co-offensive line coach in 2018 and the following season moved back to an assistant with the position group.
As Minnesota's receivers coach in 2020, Janocko guided a group that included Jefferson and Thielen, who combined for 21 Vikings touchdowns.
"With Andrew, his guys are going to know their assignments and won't make the same mistake twice. I can't compliment him enough on how he prepared our group last season," Thielen said. "I'm happy he's getting a new opportunity, and it's really good for our team that it's here because he's a very good coach."
View the best quarterback photos from the 2020 season from Vikings photographers including stories behind the photos.
This photo of Kirk was taken during our game against the Cowboys in which we wore our Primetime Purple jerseys. I wanted to emphasize the Purple and Gold in our jersey so I used colored pieces of paper in front of my lens to create a multicolored effect. - Andy
In the home opener, Kirk Cousins showed off mobility by rushing for 34 yards on four carries. For this photo, I slowed down my shutter speed to create the panning/motion effect. - Andy
I feel this photo accurately represented the eeriness and strange vibe of the first regular-season game without fans. The empty seats in the background help tell this story. - Andy
It wouldn't be a game in Seattle without a little rain. This photo of Kirk Cousins was taken minutes before kickoff when the rain was coming down stronger. I didn't enjoy the hassle of using rain gear but I did like how the photos turned out. - Andy
Since access was more limited this season, I wasn't able to be as close to the team as usual. One way I adapted was by using longer lenses and cropping in my photos. This photo was taken with a 180-mm Macro lens and cropped so Kirk's head filled the frame. I exposed the photo for the highlights, which helped create deeper shadows framing his face. It was converted to black and white to enhance the contrast of the image. - Andy
This photo was taken during the team introductions at the stadium. I utilized an off camera flash to light the players. The flash also highlighted the artificial snow that our production team uses for intros. I converted the photo to black and white because I liked how the shadows and specks of light created an interstellar feel. - Andy
This photo was taken after our victory in Green Bay against the Packers. Players from both teams meet in the center of the field after games to pray. Usually the field is very busy with other media members and fans in the background. Due to COVID-19, however, the field and stands were empty, creating a more unique image than usual. Despite Lambeau Field being home to our rivals I really love the history and atmosphere of the stadium. - Andy
This image was taken before team introductions in the location where the players are staged and await being announced. I like this image because Kirk is standing in a hero pose with his two leading receivers, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, standing behind him. I really appreciate the hard work of our game-day production team to make normal moments transform into visually stunning scenes. - Andy
This photo was taken moments before the team took the field at Detroit in Week 17. The tunnel gets crowded quickly as the players await the signal to run out. I scanned the helmets until I locked in on Kirk, calm and focused on the task ahead. After a long year, he was finally back home in Michigan. In that moment I thought back to his pregame quote "not the last game of the year, but the first game of 2021" I think it summed up the moment perfectly. - Kam
This photo was taken right after our MNF victory in Chicago. With the new COVID protocols, the media has limited field access and conducts the postgame interviews from the stands. As I left the field, I snapped a few shots of Kirk as he waited for the cameras to roll. It seemed fitting that he had a big smile on his face after winning "The Big Game" (Monday Night Football vs. a divisional rival). It doesn't get much better than that. - Kam
Jefferson added that Janocko "did so much" to help him succeed as a rookie.
"Andrew did so much to help me during my rookie year," Jefferson said. "He went the extra mile to make sure I was able to master the offense with no OTAs, minicamps, not being able to report until July and not having preseason games. His energy toward us getting better is beyond crazy. He has so much love for the game and for his players and will do anything to help the team."
Janocko is taking over at quarterbacks coach for Klint Kubiak, who has been named offensive coordinator following the retirement of his father, Gary
