Jeff Davidson

Jeff Davidson (born October 3, 1967 in Akron, Ohio) is the current offensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.

High school
Davidson attended Westerville North High School in Westerville, Ohio and was a letterman in football. He was also all state in football as well as all state in track & field in the shot putt, where he holds his high schools school record at 60'3"

College
Davidson attended and played football for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1986 to 1989. He became a starter at offensive guard as a junior and earned All-Big Ten honors as a senior.

He was also selected as a co-captain as a senior. His father Jim, an All-American tackle, had been Buckeye co-captain in 1964. The Davidsons became the first father-son captain duo in Ohio State history. They were followed by the Herbstreits (1960/1992) and the Johnsons (1984-5/2007).

NFL
Davidson was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 5th round of the 1990 NFL Draft. He was with the Broncos for four seasons before signing with the New Orleans Saints in 1994, and retiring after suffering a shoulder injury.

New England Patriots
After retiring, Davidson stayed with the New Orleans Saints as a volunteer assistant in 1995. He was made an offensive assistant by the Saints in 1996. In 1997, he was hired by the New England Patriots as their tight ends coach. At the end of the season, the Patriots promoted him to assistant offensive line coach, where he remained from 1998-2001. In 2002, he again became the tight ends coach while retaining his assistant offensive line coaching duties.

Cleveland Browns
When Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel left to become the Browns' head coach for the 2005 season, Davidson followed Crennel to Cleveland as the Browns' offensive line coach. In 2006, Davidson was named the team's assistant head coach/offensive line coach. After six games of the Browns' season, offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon was fired and Davidson promoted in his place.

Carolina Panthers
Davidson was hired on January 24, 2007 as the offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. Having worked as a member of the New England Patriots' staff under Charlie Weis, Davidson forged a close relationship with him. Weis is a good friend of Panthers head coach John Fox, and it is believed that his recommendation was instrumental in Fox's decision to hire Davidson. With his playing and coaching experience at the offensive line and additional coaching with tight ends, most believe this hire meant that Coach Fox wanted to keep his focus on a powerful offense based around a strong running game, as has been his tendency in the past.

Minnesota Vikings
Head Coach Leslie Frazier announced Davidson would be joining the Vikings as offensive line coach on January 20, 2011.