MIKE ZIMMER

The Minnesota Vikings have finalized their hiring of head coach Kevin O’Connell.

Jim Harbaugh will stay at Michigan after all.

A person with knowledge of the process says the Minnesota Vikings and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh had exploratory conversations about their coaching vacancy Saturday and both sides are gauging interest.

From the NFC North to the AFC East, the firings began almost immediately after the NFL’s first 17-game season concluded.

The Minnesota Vikings have fired general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer.

The Minnesota Vikings have placed quarterback Kirk Cousins on the COVID-19 reserve list.

The Detroit Lions are down to six more chances to win a game in coach Dan Campbell’s debut season.

The Minnesota Vikings say defensive end Everson Griffen has emerged from his home without incident and is receiving care for his mental health.

Minnesota beat Green Bay by making sure Aaron Rodgers didn't get to touch the ball last.

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook maintains he was the victim in a fight last year with a former girlfriend suing him for personal injury.

Kirk Cousins completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to K.

A matchup at home Sunday against Detroit, the only winless NFC team, could get that unit back on track.

A matchup at home Sunday against Detroit, the only winless NFC team, could get that unit back on track.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been activated from the COVID-19 reserve list.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been absent from practice this week due to COVID-19 protocols.

The Minnesota Vikings are facing a severe shortage of quarterbacks early in training camp.

Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer stands on the sideline during an NFL football game against the Washington Football Team, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in Cleveland. Priefer has known for months that he would replace Kevin Stefanski as Browns coach in the event of a positive COVID-19 test. For the second straight day, the team's headquarters and training facility stayed closed due to a COVID-19 flare-up that has knocked coach Kevin Stefanski out of Sunday night's game in Pittsburgh and wreaked havoc on the Browns' preparations. Priefer will handle Stefanski's game-day duties as the Browns play their first postseason game since Jan. 5, 2003. Priefer said Stefanski had drawn up a pandemic contingency plan in the spring, and the Browns are putting it into action this week.

(AP Photo/Al Goldis)DETROIT – This season will end like so many others for Matthew Stafford: His Detroit Lions have a losing record and won’t be in the postseason. What's different now is that there are real questions about Stafford's future with the Lions. And if this is Stafford's last game with the Lions, it could be anticlimactic. The Lions (5-10) are coming off a 47-7 loss to Tampa Bay in which Stafford didn't play much. So Detroit will finish with double-digit losses for a third straight season and the sixth time in Stafford's tenure.

(AP Photo/Butch Dill)MINNEAPOLIS – Running back Dalvin Cook is not practicing with the Minnesota Vikings this week, due to the death of his father. Cook has a younger brother, James Cook, who is a running back for Georgia. He was picked for a second straight Pro Bowl, with 1,557 rushing yards, 361 receiving yards and 17 total touchdowns in 14 games. Cook’s absence will clinch a second consecutive rushing title for Tennessee’s Derrick Henry, who has a 220-yard lead on Cook. Cook has a slim lead on Henry atop the NFL with 1,918 total yards.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) breaks free past Minnesota Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler (27), outside linebacker Eric Wilson (50) and defensive end D.J. He finished with a career-high 155 yards rushing to help New Orleans beat the Minnesota Vikings 52-33 on Friday and clinch a fourth straight NFC South title. He has since set Saints records for rushing TDs in a season with 16 and total TDs with 21 (he has five receiving). It would be 8-yard gain, 7-yard gain.”The Saints (11-4) never punted, and set a record of yards gained in a game by a Vikings opponent with 583. New Orleans' 264 yards rushing were the most by a Vikings opponent in Zimmer's seven seasons.

The Minnesota Vikings reopened their headquarters for team activities on Thursday, following another morning of zero positive COVID-19 test results four days after playing a Tennessee Titans team that experienced the NFL's first outbreak. The Vikings announced their resumption of practice shortly after the league postponed Tennessee's home game on Sunday against Pittsburgh. Minnesota plays at Houston on Sunday, a game between two of the NFL's six 0-3 teams that remains on track for now. Vikings coaches took their strategizing for the Texans home on Tuesday, which is already a day off for the players unless they need injury treatment. Then instead of taking the field to install the game plan for the week on Wednesday, players discussed it virtually with the coaches via video conference.

Davante Adams was predictably the biggest beneficiary, with a career-high, franchise-record-tying 14 catches for 156 yards and two scores. Aaron Jones rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown for the Packers, who posted their highest score against the Vikings since a 44-31 victory at the Metrodome on Oct. 27, 2013. Jaire Alexander, who also recorded a safety on an untouched cornerback blitz in the second quarter, made the bobbling interception. When LG Lucas Patrick (shoulder) was forced out in the second quarter, Jenkins moved back to his original spot and free agent addition Rick Wagner entered at RT. ... DT Kenny Clark (groin) was hurt in the second quarter during Alexander's interception and didn't return.

The NFL has updated its gameday protocols by requiring every coach and staff member in the bench area to wear a mask and reducing the size of each teams travel party. Owners also will have to follow COVID-19 testing requirements to gain access to the locker room, field or team charter. We have been really fortunate that cases of COVID-19 are very low across the league, Goodell said Tuesday. It is a testament to the plans, but most importantly to the diligence of the players, the teams and their staffs. I believe that we may be having a lot of teams that will start with no fans in the beginning this season, and then evolve to fans, Goodell said.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. In two-plus weeks, the NFL kicks off its season. That doesn't leave much time to resolve significant issues about its COVID-19 testing procedures. Among teams reporting false positives, the Minnesota Vikings had 12, the New York Jets 10, the Chicago Bears nine and the Detroit Lions one. Five labs across the country process tests for the league's 32 teams and only the New Jersey facility had false positives on Saturday. The Cleveland Browns initially canceled practice, but after re-testing turned up negative tests they decided to have their workout.

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2019, file photo, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Minneapolis. The Vikings signed head coach Zimmer on Friday, July 24, 2020, to a three-year contract extension through the 2023 season. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File)MINNEAPOLIS The Minnesota Vikings signed head coach Mike Zimmer to a three-year contract extension through the 2023 season, finalizing a key piece of business Friday before the beginning of training camp. Coach Zimmer brings an intensity and consistency to the field that our players and fans alike appreciate. Zimmer's son, linebackers coach Adam Zimmer, will serve as co-defensive coordinator with defensive line coach Andre Patterson this year.

George Floyd was killed less than three miles from the stadium where the Minnesota Vikings play, so this global unrest over racial relations and justice hit awfully close to home for the team. (Brian Peterson/Star Tribune via AP)MINNEAPOLIS Eric Kendricks woke up distressed shortly after George Floyd was killed just a few miles from the stadium where the Minnesota Vikings play. Commissioner Roger Goodell issued an apology the day after for not listening earlier and encouraged players to speak up and peacefully protest. For the Vikings, like their fellow Twin Cities sports figures, the death of Floyd hit close to home. Timberwolves guard D'Angelo Russell marched with protesters in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where the death of Breonna Taylor has also stirred uprising.

There were 63 pass interference replay reviews overall, including 26 for offense and 37 for defense and 22 for calls and 41 for non-calls. Exaggeration aside, Gruden has twice been denied attempts to have non-calls turned into defensive pass interference and twice trying to erase an offensive pass interference penalty. Giants coach Pat Shurmur, who has been undeterred in his challenge attempts, threw the red flag for defensive pass interference. Defensive pass interference called on the field: 10 coaches challenges with no reversals, and one official-initiated review with no reversals. Defensive pass interference not called on the field: 23 coaches challenges with four reversals, and three official-initiated reviews with no reversals.