Andrew Janocko was back home in Pennsylvania last January, sitting in a deer stand with his father, Tim, while the Vikings coaches were on a two-week break after the divisional playoff loss to the 49ers, when a call from Vikings coach Mike Zimmer came to his cellphone.
Wide receivers coach Drew Petzing was leaving to join Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland, Zimmer said, and the coach wanted Janocko to replace him.
Petzing's departure meant two things: That Janocko, who had been with the team since 2015, was now the team's longest-tenured offensive assistant, and that he'd get to run his own position group for the first time in the NFL.