Steckel, an offensive assistant with the Vikings for five seasons, was named the third head coach in franchise history on January 29, 1984. Steckel, who came to the Vikings in 1979 after working as an assistant with the 49ers, was the youngest head coach in the NFL at age 38. The Vikings lost a franchise-worst 13 games and the defense allowed a total of 484 points, also a franchise worst, in Steckel's only season as head coach. After the season, Steckel was fired, and on December 18, 1984, Bud Grant was re-hired as the head coach of the Vikings.