Diggs has ‘100% faith’ in Vikings OC Stefanski

After missing the first few days of organized team activities, Minnesota Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs said he has complete confidence in new offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.

The Vikings’ interim OC for the final three games of 2018, Stefanski was named to the position on a more permanent basis not long after the season ended.

“I have 100% faith and trust in him based off of those last three games,” Diggs said Wednesday. “Going into the offseason, I was under the same confidence.”

Quick aside: The absence? Not a big deal.

“House problems. You know how adults are.”

Moving on.

The Vikings fired Stefanski’s predecessor, John DeFilippo, after falling to 6-6-1 with a 21-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in December.

Things began looking up under Stefanski, a member of the Vikings’ coaching staff since 2006.

The Vikings won two of their final three games, beating the Miami Dolphins 41-17 and the Detroit Lions 27-9 before falling 24-10 to the Chicago Bears.

It’s hardly a new development for Diggs, who has had four offensive coordinators since joining the Vikings as a rookie in 2015: Norv Turner, Pat Shurmur, DeFilippo and Stefanski.

“I’ve been here for a while and I’ve had a new offensive coordinator pretty much almost every year,” Diggs said. “As far as the learning curve and doing that thing, I’m not too new to it, but it’s still fun.”

He’s worked with just as many starting quarterbacks: Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford, Case Keenum and Kirk Cousins.

Not that the revolving doors have been much of a problem for Diggs, who signed a massive five-year extension last summer.

Diggs led the Vikings in receiving yards as a rookie, and has been the 1B to top receiver Adam Thielen‘s 1A ever since.

He logged his first 1,000-yard season a year ago and matched Thielen with nine touchdowns, even as the latter became one of the league’s top receivers under Cousins and signed a lucrative extension of his own in April.

Not that such things have put any noticeable strain on their relationship.

“As far as him getting paid, it’s well deserved,” Diggs said. “As a colleague of mine and as a friend, I was happy for him. I smiled when it popped up on the ticker.”

Beyond Stefanski and his new role, the Vikings’ offense features a couple other notable changes.

Former Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak signed on as an assistant head coach and offensive advisor, while the No. 3 receiver spot is up for grabs and veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph could be on the way out.

“[Kubiak] doesn’t talk too much but when he does, you definitely listen to everything he says,” Diggs said. “I love him as a coach and I look forward to working with him.”

Diggs had nothing but praise for the new guys, from the group battling it out for the No. 3 spot (“We have some guys that can play.”) to Rudolph’s potential replacement, rookie Irv Smith Jr. (“He pretty much does everything from what I’ve seen on tape.”)

“Happy about the new offense. Happy about some new teammates that I got,” Diggs said. “I just look forward to working.”