Ex-Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson takes college grad assistant job

"I do want to coach on a professional level,'' Jackson said. "Of course, you have dreams. ... In the back of my head, I do want to be a head coach one day, but right now I want to be the best quarterback, grad assistant coach that I can be ... I want to just focus as much as I can on learning the coaching side.''

Jackson, 34, played for the Vikings from 2006-10 and was with Seattle in 2011, Buffalo in 2012 and the Seahawks from 2013-15. When he was a free agent in 2016, Jackson had hoped to continue his NFL career before it was derailed due to an arrest.

On June 24, 2016, Jackson was arrested while on vacation in Kissimmee, Fla., and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly pulling a gun on his wife. Jackson disputes much of what was in the police report, and the charges ended up being dropped on Aug. 3, 2016.

Jackson, though, said the incident resulted in his NFL career ending prematurely. He made the decision to retire later in 2016.

"It hurt me a whole lot,'' said Jackson, who lives in Montgomery, Ala. "It's no doubt I would have got a call (from an NFL team) to at least get a chance to go compete for a backup job, but it didn't happen because of that. Once they put my name up, of course that's going to come up and (teams said), 'We don't want to deal with it.' ''

Jackson said he remains married to his his wife, Lakitta Jackson. He said the incident was an argument and there was nothing physical and he did not pull a gun on his wife. He said there was a lot of "false information'' in the police report, which was picked up by the media, but he admits he hampered the situation by making a false statement to police.

"The thing about the gun was I didn't tell the truth at first,'' Jackson said. "I just told them I didn't have a gun, but then they saw the gun ... There was a gun in the condo, but it was up away from the kids (the couple has three) on top of the cabinet, so nobody was able to get it but me.''

After the charges were dropped, Jackson served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 2016 at Sidney Lanier High School, his alma mater in Montgomery. Last season, he was the quarterbacks coach at Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery.

Jackson earned a degree in psychology from Alabama State in 2014. He is working on a master's degree in sociology from Troy State, which has a campus in Montgomery, and will continue to pursue it while coaching.

"I've got 10 years' experience (in the NFL),'' Jackson said. "From my playing experience and my knowledge added over up over the years, just everything, I think I've got so much to give on the coaching end.''

Jackson, who started 21 regular-season and playoff games for Minnesota, watched with enthusiasm this season as quarterback Case Keenum helped lead the Vikings to the NFC championship game. Keenum wore No. 7, the same as Jackson did.

"I was rooting for them," Jackson said. "(Keenum) moved around a lot (on different teams) and people didn't give him a shot, so I was happy for him. Seeing that number out there brought back memories."

Two more OC candidates

Two more candidates have emerged for the Vikings' offensive coordinator job.

NFL Media reported that Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan will interview Monday, Jan. 29, and New Orleans assistant head coach/tight ends coach Dan Campbell will interview Tuesday, Jan. 30, for the position, which became open when Pat Shurmur was named last Monday as New York Giants coach.

A source confirmed the interview with Campbell, who was a Dallas tight end from 2003-06 when Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was the Cowboys' defensive coordinator. Zimmer had talked to Campbell about a possible job as an assistant in January 2016.

Zimmer is conducting the interviews at his ranch in northern Kentucky. Candidates known to be interviewing this week are Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski and Darrell Bevell, Minnesota's offensive coordinator from 2006-10.

Briefly

Gus Frerotte, a Vikings quarterback from 2003-04 and in 2008, will attend his first Super Bowl on Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium as a guest of Tampa Bay quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Frerotte said Fitzpatrick paid about $6,000 face value for six tickets. The group will include Frerotte's two sons and Fitzpatrick's two sons. "I told (Fitzpatrick) I'll buy the beer and nachos,'' Frerotte joked. ... Safety Jack Tocho, who was on the Vikings practice squad, said he has been offered reserve/futures deals by the Vikings and Houston, and soon will make a decision between the two.