The 1966 season was the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

' sixth in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. Sixth-year head coach

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los An ...

resigned at the end of the season, after the team finished with a 4–9–1 record.

Offseason

1966 Draft

: The Vikings traded OG Palmer Pyle to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in exchange for Chicago's fifth-round selection (76th overall). : The Vikings trade LB

Bill Swain Bill Swain (born February 22, 1941) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional Ameri ...

to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in exchange for the sixth-round selection the Giants acquired from the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

(83rd overall). : The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (87th overall) and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

seventh-round selection (92nd overall) to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

in exchange for DT Mike Bundra and E Larry Vargo. : The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (120th overall) and LB John Campbell to the Baltimore Colts in exchange for OT

Larry Kramer Laurence David Kramer (June 25, 1935May 27, 2020) was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and gay rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to Lo ...

. : The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (148th overall) to the

in exchange for DB Gary Lowe. : The Vikings traded their 20th-round selection (298th overall) to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in exchange for HB Billy Ray Barnes.

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

* A bye week was necessary as the league had expanded to an odd number (15) of teams (

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

); one team was idle each week.

Standings

Statistics

Team leaders

League rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1966 Minnesota Vikings Season Minnesota Vikings seasons

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...