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Coaches go with who they know. The Minnesota Vikings' new running backs coach, Kirby Wilson, knows LaRod Stephens-Howling. Depending on his progress in rehabilitation after surgery to repair a torn ACL in September, they may sign the former Steelers running back, according to ESPN's Ben Goessling.
With the Steelers sniffing around LeGarrette Blount - and enough interest apparently being generated to wait until Friday when general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin can meet with him - and having already spoken with Maurice Jones-Drew, Stephens-Howling's name was bound to come resurface.
His progress in rehabilitation obviously is the key thing, whether Wilson is familiar with him or not. Hopes were high for Stephens-Howling after he showed some flashes of excellence in the preseason, but even before his injury - which occurred in Week 1, along with so many others - he wasn't exactly setting the league on fire.
He can be a complimentary back, which is something Minnesota will look to add either in free agency or the draft. He had 149 total yards and a touchdown on 24 touches in a Week 5 loss in 2012 when Stephens-Howling was with the Arizona Cardinals.