EAGAN — Cause and effect is pretty hard to pinpoint when it comes to coaching kickers. When a kicker goes into a slump, does it mean something different should have been done by the coaching staff or was it just a bout with the yips or sheer randomness? Kickers are mysterious.
But the way in which a kicker is approached by his team can’t be meaningless for a position that’s so tied into confidence, right?
Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels believe that it matters.
Following kicker Greg Joseph’s 61-yard game-winning field goal against the New York Giants, Daniels talked about how he determined the right approach for his kicker through the ups and downs of this season.
“You build a relationship with them, you ask them straight up, do you want me to come to you and be honest and ask you what happened on that kick right there or do you want me to leave you alone after each kick or do you want me to provide you with some affirmation?” Daniels said.
The first-year coordinator said that Joseph prefers to be left to figure things out himself rather than getting too much attention but he’s worked with kickers in the past who would rather receive a hands-on approach from coaches.
“Every kicker is different,” Daniels said. “I’ve worked with a kicker who wants to be mother F’d or who wants me to say, ‘Do your frickin job,’ whereas other guys you want to just leave them alone. If they miss a kick, you don’t go ask, ‘What happened?’ You just leave them be and allow them to figure it out on their own.”
After a phenomenal training camp, Joseph went through a difficult stretch in which he missed five straight field goals from 50-plus yards and had four extra points go wide. Over the last four games, he’s made 18 straight kicks.
“You talk about a guy who went through a mid-season slump where and if you’re [on the outside looking in] you’re saying, ‘Get rid of this guy, find someone new,’ and it feels like the whole house is coming down on you but from an internal organization standpoint we had nothing but faith and belief in this guy, full trust that he would respond the right way,” Daniels said.
Daniels pointed out that it’s vital for the special teams coordinator to have a relationship with the head coach so they can be on the same page with the handling of their kicker.
“Wherever there’s a lack of communication, negativity fills the void,” Daniels said. “It’s important you’re communicating to [the head coach], ‘Hey, that guy doesn’t respond the best way when you’re jumping down his neck.’ It’s also on you as a special teams coordinator to have mutual respect with the head man to be able to communicate that to him.”
Daniels’ management of his kicker underscores how the team wanted to operate under O’Connell. When they used buzz words like, “culture of collaboration,” this is what they were talking about.
Does that mean Joseph will continue to ride his hot streak? Nobody knows when it comes to kickers. But if he sputters, it won’t be because the coaches shook his confidence.
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