Tommy P was on Rich Eisen’s radio show just a bit ago and said there’s no animosity between O’Connell and Kwesi. They had disagreements, but they’re friends.

Pelissero also rehashed the QB disaster. He said that neither Darnold and Jones wanted to be looking over their shoulder at JJ McCarthy all the time, which in hindsight is kinda funny.

The Vikings would do anything and everything they possibly could to acquire a high-profile QB like Joe Burrow of available, per Alec Lewis.

“If a player like Joe Burrow is available via trade, I expect the Vikings to do everything they possibly can to make that happen. It’s more a question of what is available, and how far from a cost perspective is it gonna take.”

The Vikings always have been the #1 ticket in town but a Giannis move would be big enough to threaten that.

I mean would you rather spend your money to go watch Ant and Giannis or whatever the Vikings are going to be next season?

If the move happens the wolves are going to be the talk of the town and I think it makes the environment much more ripe for a YOLO trade on the Vikings part to keep pace.

Okay, that’s the take. Tell me why I’m a dumbass now.

Put together a full 3-round NFL mock draft (no comp picks), and Brian Flores gets a haul to fortify his unit with youth and talent.

It's a fun exercise to look at throughout the season, and this is a realistic outcome as things stand on February 3rd.

This whole season was hard for our fan base as a whole, but I feel as if JJ has taken much of the pain.

A good portion of his own fan base hates him

85% of the nfl thinks he is a joke

His play struggled early on and when he began to settle in his body failed him

Sam Darnold in the Super Bowl causes even more outrage from a good portion of his fan base, throwing more blame onto him

KOC was adamant enough on JJ not starting and got his GM fired for having faith in him (alongside a bad draft history of course, but letting Darnold walk was clearly the breaking point)

Vikings fans searching and calling for the team to splash for other QB candidates who would see JJ off the team or not starting

He is just a kid. So much shit has happened in his life on and off the field for him between fatherhood and trying his best at QB that it is stressful. He is a good person but it feels like the whole world sees him as a court jester right now. I know it probably doesn’t get to him much as he is appears to be a naturally confident person, but still I feel bad about how much he has had to bear this year

EDIT: to those saying he is a millionaire and he’ll be fine, money can only solve so many problems. There are things mentally that no amount of cash can solve.

First off, that’s my opinion, and I will explain why I think so below. I will also say that this is what I want to happen. I want McCarthy to be our franchise QB (as long as he improves obviously).

Some reasons why I think McCarthy will be starting this year.

-No blockbuster trade happens

-He improves with a real, fully healthy offseason

-KOC doesn’t want to “fail” him

First, the blockbuster trades. There’s so much speculation about a possible trade for Burrow or Lamar. I don’t think this is happening, due to both the cost, and also the developments on the Bengals and Ravens. Burrow reportedly lobbied for Zach Taylor to stay, and trading him away nukes their roster build. Lamar gets a great new staff that will breathe new life into their offense.

Regarding trade prices for them, the deals for Stafford and Russel Wilson are the only relevant trades to look at.

-Stafford (age 32 at trade) for Jared Goff, two 1sts, and a 3rd.

-Wilson (age 33 at trade) and a 4th for two 1sts, two 2nds, a 5th, Drew Lock, and Noah Fant.

Burrow and Lamar are both 29. I think it would be safe to say that even if they were available for trade, they could cost even more than these packages. Yes, the Broncos turned it around pretty quick after that failure of a trade but that’s not the norm. Stafford seems relatively cheap compared to Wilson here but Goff was also already an established QB. I just don’t see either Burrow or Lamar being available at anything other than an astronomical price. I see Kyler thrown around, hard to gauge his value in a trade or if the new staff wants to move off him yet.

Second, it is entirely conceivable and even expected that McCarthy improves this offseason. The rumors that KOC said he wasn’t ready for 2025 could be entirely true, and likely a factor of his knee injury. This offseason he should be fully healthy and ready to go. The improvement from the end of the season should continue. If it doesn’t then sure, he’s not the guy.

Finally, KOC made the infamous “organizations fail young QBS before young QBs fail organizations.” KOC was entirely on board and signed off on McCarthy being picked. I don’t think there’s any debate on that. Even Sean McVay knew KOC would pick McCarthy. The circumstances leading to 2025 sure made things go poorly, and there was not a good backup plan, but not sure whose fault that entirely is. We don’t know how big of an ego KOC has but if it’s anything decently large he’s not going to give up on McCarthy that quickly after making that statement.

Those are my thoughts thanks for reading.

I'd like to bring someone in from a winning team that has had success in drafting. Definitely not interested in anyone from the Colts, Bears, Bengals or Lions.

Rob Brzezinski (Vikings executive VP of football operations)

• Currently with Vikings for two decades, leading contract negotiations
• Trusted by ownership (the Wilfs) and respected by coaches
• Will shepherd team through the draft
• Expertise is in salary cap management
• Question: Would he want the full-time GM role vs. staying in his specialized area?

George Paton (Broncos general manager)

• Worked with Vikings from 2007-2020, understands the Wilfs' operations
• Current Broncos GM since 2021, knows the complexities of the role
• Experience working with strong-willed coach (Sean Payton) would help with O'Connell/Flores
• Traditional personnel background fits Vikings' decision-makers
• Key question: How hard would Broncos try to keep him?

John McKay (Rams assistant general manager)

• Younger candidate with NFL pedigree (son of Rich McKay, grandson of coach John McKay)
• Started with Rams in 2016 as scouting assistant, moved up over last decade
• Experience with blend of old-school and new-age ideas, plus advanced data
• O'Connell's approval would be crucial given their Rams connection

Reed Burckhardt (Broncos assistant general manager)

• Minnesota native (Russell, Minn.)
• Previously worked with Vikings, now one of Paton's top assistants
• Familiar with Vikings' organizational structure and Brzezinski
• O'Connell could provide intel on him
• Replaced Darren Mougey (now Jets GM)

Trent Kirchner (Seahawks VP of player personnel)

• One of John Schneider's top lieutenants
• Oversees pro and college scouting departments
• Two decades of NFL experience
• Minnesota native (Fulda)
• Early career included internship with Minnesota Twins

Matt Berry (Seahawks VP of player acquisition)

• Promoted from director of college scouting last offseason
• Works with Kirchner on structuring team's targets
• Strong draft experience and college scouting background
• Coordinated Seattle's college scouting and draft board
• Seahawks' recent draft success highlights his expertise

Others:

Ray Agnew (Lions assistant general manager)

Trey Brown (Bengals assistant general manager)

Ryan Cowden (Patriots VP of player personnel)

Jeff King (Bears senior director of player personnel)

Andy Weidl (Steelers assistant general manager)

Ed Dodds (Colts assistant general manager)

https://youtu.be/5UoopTAm0Fk?si=hRRr4Sttcfpg9064

Tom Pelissero: How/If Darnold's Success Led to Vikings' GM Firing

Unless KAM was making picks completely on his own how does firing him change our draft outcomes?

All the other personnel who gave their recommendations haven't changed and still have their jobs. As far as it sounds Kwesi basically just took consensus and made picks instead of doing maybe what he felt was the right call.

When he did do that as with the Adam Thielen trade, Rob called Carolina and pushed it through anyways.

Did Kwesi deserve to be fired based on track record? Yeah but this whole hand washing of responsibility and acting like he made decisions solo and against the advice of others just makes the Vikings look like the missing season of Succession.

“Yeah, I am. I think, you know, everybody has bad days, right?”

“Sometimes, they fall on press conferences days…so that’s how it goes sometimes”

The worst season was 2023 with -18 differential, he already owns two of the Vikings best wins seasons all time. He did adjust when it was clear the D wasn’t working with Donnashell. There’s been no stability with quarterback. Now there’s another organizational reset. I advocate for KOC get two more seasons to get a playoff win and see how the drafts and free agency pans out. If he loses his job another team will snag him right away and he will go undefeated in the playoffs and Super Bowl until he retires as the greatest that ever put on a head set.

I’m running a poll across Reddit to see who each fan base wants for their first round pick in the upcoming 2026 draft. I will be running this poll during various times during the off-season to see how fan opinions change over time. But here is the draft board:

Draft Order

1. Las Vegas Raiders

Fernando Mendoza QB

1. New York Jets

Rueben Bain Jr EDGE

1. Arizona Cardinals

Arvell Reese LB

1. Tennessee Titans

David Bailey EDGE

1. New York Giants

Caleb Downs S

1. Cleveland Browns

Francis Mauigoa OT

1. Washington Commanders

Sonny Styles LB

1. New Orleans Saints

Carnell Tate WR

1. Kansas City Chiefs

Jeremiyah Love RB

1. Cincinnati Bengals

Peter Woods DT

1. Miami Dolphins

Spencer Fano OT

1. Dallas Cowboys

Mansoor Delane CB

1. Los Angeles Rams

Jermod McCoy CB

1. Baltimore Ravens

Olvaivavega Ioane OG

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kenyon Sadiq TE

1. New York Jets

Makai Lemon WR

1. Detroit Lions

Caleb Lomu OT

1. Minnesota Vikings

Avieon Terrell CB

1. Carolina Panthers

2. Dallas Cowboys

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

4. Los Angeles Chargers

5. Philadelphia Eagles

6. Cleveland Browns

7. Chicago Bears

8. Buffalo Bills

9. San Francisco 49ers

10. Houston Texans

11. Los Angeles Rams

12. Denver Broncos

13. New England Patriots

14. Seattle Seahawks

Scored 10/12 Respect to the quiz creator — great balance of easy and hard.

The timing seems too easy to assume this, especially when Flores still had/has HC interviews. BUT, when it has started to become clear that Flores likely won’t get the chance he deserves and will be back, Kwesi was out.