Vikings' environment drew Harrison Smith back

The Vikings' star safety talked about returning for his 14th year, an extremely rare feat in NFL history

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — Here’s a fun fact: There are only three defensive backs who entered the NFL after 1980 who have spent more time with one NFL franchise than Harrison Smith. Washington’s Darrell Green, Dallas safety Bill Bates and Tampa Bay legend Ronde Barber. That’s it.

On Monday, Smith returned to TCO Performance Center for voluntary offseason workouts, marking the unofficial beginning of his 14th season. It has become a yearly tradition at this point for him to speak with the media about why he is coming back.

The interesting part about each year’s discussion about his return is that the explanation is never the same. At this time last year, Smith talked about assessing himself physically and asking if he was still fast enough to play in the league. He also wanted to build on his relationship with Brian Flores. But there were uncertainties at that time. The Vikings’ over-under was 6.5 wins and they were changing QBs from Kirk Cousins, who perpetually had them in the playoff race, to the complete unknown. There were also a ton of new faces showing up inside the locker room like Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman. Nobody really knew how all that was going to go.

That’s why Smith said that this time around was easier.

“I think it was one I probably struggled less with than the year prior,” Smith said on Monday. “As far as how the season went as a team, as a defense, and then how I feel physically and how much drive I still have left with the game, with preparation, with playing on game day, being part of a team….I kind of had a feeling when the season ended. I was like, ‘it's probably not the last time I'll put on pads.’”

Smith named off the different boxes that he needed to check. Does he still feel good enough to play? Can he still help the team win? Does the team still want him? Is he still having fun? Is it realistic to think that they could go deep in the playoffs?

“Those are all things I thought I came to answer pretty quick on,” Smith said.

Beyond those questions, there were some important other factors that made it an easier decision than in other offseason. Flores and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones, both of whom were discussed as candidates for potential promotions elsewhere, are back on the staff. He knows exactly what the work environment is going to be like on a daily basis.

It's huge, especially as you become a grumpy old vet you just have less patience for certain things,” Smith said. “And not even in a bad way. It's just like, what are we doing today and how is that going to help us win? And how is that going to make my job more clear cut?”

Smith first worked with Jones in 2020 when he was brought on board by Mike Zimmer and he returned in 2022 and was kept on board by Flores. You don’t see many assistant coaches transcend staffs like that.

“The working relationship… it's very clear, it's very productive…and if I mess up a play that's like a game-changing play that you might not even notice, but I know I could have made it… I'm like, man, I needed to make that for [Daronte Jones] because he set me up for that. I can't miss that layup.”

Smith continued…

“When you have that good relationship and you can already speak the same language, I can coach myself like I'm him while I'm on the field during a series, instead of having to come to the sideline. I already know how he's going to tell me to play it, because he does such a good job preparing us to start with. So that stuff goes a long way.”

The roster mattered for Smith in his decision too. While he had become close with safety Cam Bynum, who signed with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason, a large percentage of the players who won 14 regular season games for the Vikings are coming back. He even knows one of the free agent additions in linebacker Eric Wilson. And when it comes to the other players i.e. Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, they are guys that have played at high levels in their career and have similar years of experience.

“It looks pretty outstanding,” Smith said. “So that's another thing when I'm thinking about if if I want to play, it's pretty good to have a bunch of guys up front that cause problems,” Smith said. “It makes it a lot easier on the back end. And you're always going to lose guys and gain guys. But I think, from what it looks like, we've done ourselves some favors and have a chance here.”

Having a chance is a central part of the Vikings wanting Smith back. From the perspective of the on-field product, getting Smith back is enormous. Last year he ranked as a top-30 safety by PFF and his experience can’t be matched. He joked that he doesn’t want to be the old guy telling young players the tales of his career but he is at the center of communication in a Flores defense that has many, many moving parts. O’Connell considers Smith a vital part of his leadership group.

“I tell people all the time I haven't coached today for the Vikings without him as a major pillar of our team and a resource for me,” O’Connell said. “I consider him somebody that I trust wholeheartedly with our team and his interpretation of how I'm reaching the team.”

A few other subjects that Smith addressed in his comments to the media on Monday:

— He asked, “how did the Titans let him go?” about Theo Jackson and called him “big time.”

— Smith said he will not be taking over the celebrations from Cam Bynum but was thrilled to see him get paid. He said: “If I could help him in any way to get to that spot like super pumped about it He I think he would have gotten to that point, no matter where he went, he's that type of player, that type of person. He's a great addition for Indianapolis and obviously a big hole that we have to fill and a lot more ways than just playmaking ability, just his presence and what he means being in a room is a big deal. So we'll obviously have our work cut out for us there, but I think we've got some good options.”

— Smith didn’t want to speculate about whether there will be a Year 15 just yet.

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