Ben Ellefson enters his fifth season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2025 and his third as a member of the club's coaching staff. Ellefson, who played three seasons in the NFL with both the Jacksonville Jaguars (2020) and Vikings (2021-22), joined Minnesota's coaching staff as an offensive assistant in 2023.
Ellefson assisted the Vikings offense that finished ninth in scoring (25.4 points per game) and seventh in passing offense (237.8 yards per game) during the 2024 season, helping the team to a 14-3 regular-season record and playoff appearance.
Ellefson, who worked closely with Minnesota's tight ends in 2024, helped TE Josh Oliver post single-season career highs in receiving yards (258) and receiving touchdowns (three) and tie his season best in receptions from 2023 (22). Upon the return of TE T.J. Hockenson in Week 9, Vikings tight ends combined for 61 receptions for 690 receiving yards and led the league in yards per catch (11.8 yards/reception) among teams that targeted their tight ends at least 70 times in that span.
During his first season in the NFL coaching ranks in 2023, Ellefson helped the Vikings rank in the top 10 in both total offense and passing yards per game. The team averaged 347.8 yards per game, the 10th most among all teams, and 256.4 passing yards per game, which ranked fifth in the league.
Ellefson entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars in April of 2020. He spent his rookie season in Jacksonville, starting four of the seven games he played, before joining the Vikings for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He saw action in nine games as a Viking, making one start, and caught three passes for 26 yards.
A native of Hawley, Minn., Ellefson spent his collegiate career at North Dakota State where he was part of Bison program that went 57-3 in his four seasons playing, winning three-straight FCS national titles from 2017-20. A two-time All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honoree, Ellefson was a named a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy as a senior in 2019.
