1986 Minnesota Vikings season

1986 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Mike Lynn
Head coach	Jerry Burns
Home field	Metrodome
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1986 Minnesota Vikings season was the franchise's 26th season in the National Football League The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and seven losses.

After the sudden retirement of Bud Grant in the off-season, the Vikings hired Jerry Burns to be their head coach for the upcoming season.

Offseason

1986 Draft

Main article: 1986 NFL draft

1986 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	8	8	Traded to the San Diego Chargers[a]
	14	14	Gerald Robinson	Defensive end	Auburn	from Packers via Chargers[a]
2	13	40	Traded to the Miami Dolphins[b]
	17	44	Traded to the New York Giants[c]			from Chargers[a]
	26	53	Traded to the New York Giants[c]			from Raiders[d]
3	12	66	Traded to the San Diego Chargers[a]
4	11	93	Joe Phillips	Defensive tackle	Southern Methodist
5	10	120	Hassan Jones	Wide receiver	Florida State
6	9	147	Thomas Rooks	Running back	Illinois
7	13	179	Carl Hilton	Tight end	Houston
8	12	206	Gary Shippang	Offensive tackle	West Chester (PA)
9	11	232	Mike Slaton	Defensive back	South Dakota
10	10	259	Joe Cormier	Wide receiver	USC
11	9	286	John Armstrong	Wide receiver	Richmond
12	13	318	Jesse Solomon	Linebacker	Florida State

^{^[a]} San Diego traded a 1st round selection (14th overall) and 2nd round selection (44th overall) to the Vikings for their 1st round selection (8th overall) and 3rd round selection (66th overall).

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded one of their 2nd round selections (40th overall) and LB Robin Sendlein to Miami for WR Anthony Carter.

^{^[c]} Minnesota traded two 2nd round selections (44th and 53rd overall) to the Giants for OT Gary Zimmerman.

^{^[d]} The Raiders traded their 1985 6th round selection (164th overall) and 1986 2nd round selection (53rd overall) to Minnesota for LB Brad Van Pelt.

Personnel

Staff

1986 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office President – Max Winter General Manager – Mike Lynn Administrative Assistant – Bob Hollway Head coaches Head Coach – Jerry Burns Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Bob Schnelker Running backs – Marc Trestman Receivers – Dick Rehbein Tight ends – Tom Batta Offensive Line – John Michels

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Floyd Peters Defensive Line – Paul Wiggin Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Defensive backs – Pete Carroll Special teams coaches Special Teams – Tom Batta

Final roster

1986 Minnesota Vikings final roster

	Quarterbacks 13 Steve Bono  9 Tommy Kramer 11 Wade Wilson Running backs {{{running_backs}}} Wide receivers {{{wide_receivers}}} Tight ends {{{tight_ends}}}		Offensive linemen 62 Brent Boyd G 72 Dave Huffman G 51 Jim Hough G 76 Tim Irwin T 63 Kirk Lowdermilk C 71 Mark MacDonald G 68 Curtis Rouse G 67 Dennis Swilley C 66 Terry Tausch G 65 Gary Zimmerman T Defensive linemen 56 Chris Doleman DE 73 Neil Elshire DE 79 Doug Martin DE 75 Keith Millard DT 77 Mark Mullaney DE 96 Tim Newton DT 91 Joe Phillips NT 95 Gerald Robinson DE 74 Mike Stensrud NT		Linebackers 99 David Howard OLB 57 Chris Martin OLB 54 Jesse Solomon OLB 55 Scott Studwell MLB Defensive backs {{{defensive_backs}}} Special teams  8 Greg Coleman P  1 Chuck Nelson K		Rookies in italics 50 active, 0 inactive, 0 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7, 1986	Detroit Lions	L 13–10	Metrodome	54,851
2	September 14, 1986	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 23–10	Tampa Stadium	34,579
3	September 21, 1986	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31–7	Metrodome	56,795
4	September 28, 1986	Green Bay Packers	W 42–7	Metrodome	60,478
5	October 5, 1986	at Chicago Bears	L 23–0	Soldier Field	63,921
6	October 12, 1986	at San Francisco 49ers	W 27–24 (OT)	Candlestick Park	58,637
7	October 19, 1986	Chicago Bears	W 23–7	Metrodome	62,851
8	October 26, 1986	Cleveland Browns	L 23–20	Metrodome	59,133
9	November 2, 1986	at Washington Redskins	L 44–38 (OT)	RFK Stadium	51,928
10	November 9, 1986	at Detroit Lions	W 24–10	Silverdome	53,725
11	November 16, 1986	New York Giants	L 22–20	Metrodome	62,003
12	November 23, 1986	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 24–20	Riverfront Stadium	53,003
13	November 30, 1986	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 45–13	Metrodome	56,235
14	December 7, 1986	at Green Bay Packers	W 32–6	Lambeau Field	47,637
15	December 14, 1986	at Houston Oilers	L 23–10	Astrodome	32,738
16	December 21, 1986	New Orleans Saints	W 33–17	Metrodome	51,209

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears(2)	14	2	0	.875	7–1	10–2	352	187	W7
Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	6–2	8–4	398	273	W1
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	3–5	4–8	277	326	L4
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	3–5	3–9	254	418	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	14	0	.125	1–7	1–13	239	473	L7

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Tommy Kramer	3,000
Passing Touchdowns	Tommy Kramer	24
Rushing Yards	Darrin Nelson	793
Rushing Touchdowns	Ted Brown Darrin Nelson	4
Receiving Yards	Steve Jordan	859
Receiving Touchdowns	Anthony Carter	7
Points	Chuck Nelson	110
Kickoff Return Yards	Rufus Bess	705
Punt Return Yards	Rufus Bess	162
Tackles	Jesse Solomon	96
Sacks	Keith Millard	10.5
Interceptions	Issiac Holt	8
Forced Fumbles	Chris Doleman	2

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing Offense	3,913 Yards	244.6 YPG	5th
Rushing Offense	1,738 Yards	108.6 YPG	16th
Total Offense	5,651 Yards	353.2 YPG	4th
Passing Defense	3,216 Yards	201.0 YPG	13th
Rushing Defense	1,796 Yards	112.3 YPG	13th
Total Defense	5,012 Yards	313.3 YPG	11th

Awards and records

• Tommy Kramer, NFL Comeback Player of the Year

References

• Vikings on Pro Football Reference
• Vikings on jt-sw.com