All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread

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From an article regarding teams who flopped this year and how the draft can fix them/us


Minnesota Vikings (7-8)​

It’s been a weird year for the Vikings, though I’m not sure we can totally call that a surprise.

QB J.J. McCarthy, in particular, has been all over the place. He’s struggled to stay healthy, and he’s been erratic. He’s also had big-time flash moments, such as pulling off a road win in Detroit and posting an uber-efficient day in another road win, over the Cowboys. Obviously, the biggest priority for Minnesota is getting McCarthy to turn a corner.


Draft-wise, though, the defense is a more immediate need. Minnesota needs more help in the secondary, possibly at both corner and safety. The Vikings could also use more youth at linebacker. This defense has not tackled well this season and, almost across the board, needs more energy.

In terms of capital, the Vikings are in good shape — they’ll likely have a pick in the top half of Round 1 and four selections inside the top 100. If McCarthy can get his technique together and become a consistent presence, Minnesota will be in position to make a big jump next year.
 

Alec Lewis’ column today addresses Flo’s future.

www.nytimes.com

Will Brian Flores be back as Vikings’ DC in 2026? Why it’s such a critical question

Flores' defense has been one of the league's best units in the second half of the season. But can the Vikings keep him around in 2026?
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Here’s a taste -

This takes time to learn and grow, which may factor into Flores’ eventual decision. There are plenty of other elements at play, too. Flores’ racial discrimination suit against the NFL is ongoing. Owners and teams must also consider the previous comments made by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa about Flores’ leadership style.

In Minnesota, Flores’ intensity has been evident since training camp began. The players have raved about his style. Smith’s decision to return and play his 14th season in 2025 hinged largely on Flores remaining in his role.

If Flores doesn’t receive a head coaching opportunity, would another organization be willing to offer him the same level of decision-making on offseason personnel? It’s one of the many relevant questions surrounding one of the bigger offseason topics for the Vikings.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Alec Lewis’ column today addresses Flo’s future.

www.nytimes.com

Will Brian Flores be back as Vikings’ DC in 2026? Why it’s such a critical question

Flores' defense has been one of the league's best units in the second half of the season. But can the Vikings keep him around in 2026?
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Here’s a taste -

This takes time to learn and grow, which may factor into Flores’ eventual decision. There are plenty of other elements at play, too. Flores’ racial discrimination suit against the NFL is ongoing. Owners and teams must also consider the previous comments made by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa about Flores’ leadership style.

In Minnesota, Flores’ intensity has been evident since training camp began. The players have raved about his style. Smith’s decision to return and play his 14th season in 2025 hinged largely on Flores remaining in his role.

If Flores doesn’t receive a head coaching opportunity, would another organization be willing to offer him the same level of decision-making on offseason personnel? It’s one of the many relevant questions surrounding one of the bigger offseason topics for the Vikings.
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bringing him back is probably the largest first decision they need to make as it massively retools the types of players you need to have if you switch to someone who does not blitz/scheme this way

I think Flores will try his best to leave again and seems like there will be ample vacancies to try do so without as many options to hire where last cycle had multiple guys who were "darling" type picks. Not quite so much this year and think he'll be listed as one of the top candidates at multiple jobs. Just a matter of if he wants a certain amount of personnel decision making capacity and if GMs are willing to give him that with some of his history and if owners are willing to hire a guy who's sued
 

GophersInIowa said:
The 49ers and Bears combined for 58 first downs tonight. The NFL record is 62.
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Ope3 said:
A very entertaining football contest.
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Brock Purdy, at least to me, is arguably the most criminally underrated (and probably disrespected) player in the NFL. The way he runs Shanahan's offense with surgical precision, throwing the ball from the pocket, downfield, not dump-offs left and right... just a very impressive player.

Gotta believe Run CMC locked up the Comeback Player of the Year with his performance last night, although I think he had it locked up already. Sucks, a little, because I sprinkled a little last fall on Trevor Lawrence, thinking/hoping Liam Coen would give some life to him and get the best out of him. Lawrence has been pretty good, but he won't beat CMC for the award.
 



Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Sorry, had to laugh. Plenty of stuff like this on X this morning

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guess i didn't see the argument, but Ben Johnson calling a lateral play in the middle of the field with no timeouts left when you could've had at least 2-3 shots into the end zone before calling that is sure a choice (Maybe the call is for Swift to beeline to the sidelines if its not there?). The complete lack of urgency from guys to get set was also painful after that play as if they get set faster, you probably can try run a fade first before that last play to at least give you a second stab at it
I don't really get the Williams hate on the last play (how it played out; the call in the huddle stuff about communicating yes is 100% on him). The flush to the left is a great play to make time. DJ Moore is only open because he scrambles left (the linebacker is under moore and then picks his own guy after Williams scrambles to go left and avoid being sacked). Maybe he could've lofted it up, but then that LB and the DB who does not get picked both are right there. Passing to Swift he gets wrecked by a flying DB and a LB who is cheating outside until Williams comes off it.

Either way, super fun game. Very well executed. Brock Purdy these last has been masterful. His number splits if taken over the full year would be hands down MVP if he hadn't missed time. 23 TDs in 8 games and his rushing numbers are criminally underrated as well
 

upnorthkid said:
bringing him back is probably the largest first decision they need to make as it massively retools the types of players you need to have if you switch to someone who does not blitz/scheme this way

I think Flores will try his best to leave again
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When did he try to leave before?
upnorthkid said:
and seems like there will be ample vacancies to try do so without as many options to hire where last cycle had multiple guys who were "darling" type picks. Not quite so much this year and think he'll be listed as one of the top candidates at multiple jobs. Just a matter of if he wants a certain amount of personnel decision making capacity and if GMs are willing to give him that with some of his history and if owners are willing to hire a guy who's sued
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I don’t think he gets hired or even interviewed for A HC job, as his contention in the lawsuit, is that the interviews he received previously were sham interviews, to fulfill the Rooney Rule requirements; there are plenty of other candidates out there.

If I’m a team, there’s no way I touch him/that situation.

If I’m him, I wait until the suit is decided, as that may give me more leverage for future HC vacancies. There’s also the possibility the NFL settles to avoid the publicity and the discovery phase.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Brock Purdy, at least to me, is arguably the most criminally underrated (and probably disrespected) player in the NFL. The way he runs Shanahan's offense with surgical precision, throwing the ball from the pocket, downfield, not dump-offs left and right... just a very impressive player.

Gotta believe Run CMC locked up the Comeback Player of the Year with his performance last night, although I think he had it locked up already. Sucks, a little, because I sprinkled a little last fall on Trevor Lawrence, thinking/hoping Liam Coen would give some life to him and get the best out of him. Lawrence has been pretty good, but he won't beat CMC for the award.
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I haven’t been able to watch live NFL until these last two weeks and the most remarkable discovery has been Purdy’s development into dare I say, elite quarterback status. Turns out he’s been 25 years old most of the season 😉 (turned 26 on Saturday)
 



coolhandgopher said:
I haven’t been able to watch live NFL until these last two weeks and the most remarkable discovery has been Purdy’s development into dare I say, elite quarterback status. Turns out he’s been 25 years old most of the season 😉 (turned 26 on Saturday)
Click to expand...

Sounds like some maturity happened (or continues).
 


Gopher_In_NYC said:
When did he try to leave before?

I don’t think he gets hired or even interviewed for A HC job, as his contention in the lawsuit, is that the interviews he received previously were sham interviews, to fulfill the Rooney Rule requirements; there are plenty of other candidates out there.

If I’m a team, there’s no way I touch him/that situation.

If I’m him, I wait until the suit is decided, as that may give me more leverage for future HC vacancies. There’s also the possibility the NFL settles to avoid the publicity and the discovery phase.
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he has said numerous times on record he wants to be a HC again and your second part is the only reason he hasn't yet (and is why he didn't sign an extension last year despite the Vikings wanting him to).

Could absolutely see him end up in Cinci (who clearly doesn't care about anything) or Cleveland as they may view him and the defensive players they have as a good fit.

I agree with many in that there's no way he's going for another DC role. The NFL is weird in that it all ends up retreading guys. Eventually the inertia gets large enough that someone will give him a chance.

I agree he does have more leverage if he waits for the case to play out. Maybe they'll forever black ball him, but he wasn't fired for performance but for all the stuff with Ross (tampering, pressuring to lose games) which probably has a large degree of truth (as i'm sure all these owners are pushing towards as they just want to win and don't care how they get there).
 




upnorthkid said:
he has said numerous times on record he wants to be a HC again and your second part is the only reason he hasn't yet (and is why he didn't sign an extension last year despite the Vikings wanting him to).

Could absolutely see him end up in Cinci (who clearly doesn't care about anything) or Cleveland as they may view him and the defensive players they have as a good fit.

I agree with many in that there's no way he's going for another DC role. The NFL is weird in that it all ends up retreading guys. Eventually the inertia gets large enough that someone will give him a chance.

I agree he does have more leverage if he waits for the case to play out. Maybe they'll forever black ball him, but he wasn't fired for performance but for all the stuff with Ross (tampering, pressuring to lose games) which probably has a large degree of truth (as i'm sure all these owners are pushing towards as they just want to win and don't care how they get there).
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Sorry, but the notion that Flores has been "black-balled" by the NFL for getting another HC job is just plain ridiculous. His tenure in Miami, despite the record, was just not a very positive experience for anyone involved. It was littered with terrible stories regarding personnel/staff treatment.

I hire people at my company, and I can tell you there is a less than ZERO chance I would ever hire someone that has a history not only of mistreating subordinates, but also one of suing a former employer. Is that "black-balling"? Of course not. It's reality. Why would anyone EVER want to bring that into their building?

Black-balling directly implies that there was a directive issued by the NFL league office to not hire this person. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

To me, the interviews would be everything. I would want to hear what he has to say about what he learned during his time in Miami. I would want to hear personal accountability, I would want to hear some contrition, and most importantly I would want to hear a clear and concise plan about the future of the franchise, potential OC/DC decisions, etc.

I just don't see it though. There are always going to be too many other good choices out there to risk giving him the keys to your multi-billion dollar company. There's nothing wrong with being one of the elite DC's in the league, one of the most respected DC's in football and making $4-$5M/year without the headaches of the HC job.
 

upnorthkid said:
he has said numerous times on record he wants to be a HC again and your second part is the only reason he hasn't yet (and is why he didn't sign an extension last year despite the Vikings wanting him to).
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Thanks for clarifying.

Think he was smart to not sign the extension, as his future contact now should have increased, if he resigns as our DC.

More amazing stuff-

The results are inarguable. The Vikings haven’t drafted a full-time defensive starter in the early rounds in almost a decade, yet Flores has produced elite defenses since he was hired in 2023. The current group ranks sixth in the league in defensive DVOA, an all-encompassing metric that accounts for strength of schedule.

Only the Jaguars, Eagles, Seahawks and Texans — all playoff teams — have allowed fewer points per drive than Minnesota since Week 11. Four of the Vikings’ opponents during that stretch boast top-10 offenses.


upnorthkid said:
Could absolutely see him end up in Cinci
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Their O is tempting🤷‍♂️

upnorthkid said:
(who clearly doesn't care about anything) or Cleveland as they may view him and the defensive players they have as a good fit.
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Dysfunctional franchise.

upnorthkid said:
I agree with many in that there's no way he's going for another DC role. The NFL is weird in that it all ends up retreading guys. Eventually the inertia gets large enough that someone will give him a chance.

I agree he does have more leverage if he waits for the case to play out. Maybe they'll forever black ball him, but he wasn't fired for performance but for all the stuff with Ross (tampering, pressuring to lose games) which probably has a large degree of truth (as i'm sure all these owners are pushing towards as they just want to win and don't care how they get there).
Click to expand...
If I’m the Vikes, I make him the highest paid coordinator in football.

He’s 44 and maybe gets one more shot at an HC job, so I hope he stays put for a few more seasons.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Sorry, but the notion that Flores has been "black-balled" by the NFL for getting another HC job is just plain ridiculous. His tenure in Miami, despite the record, was just not a very positive experience for anyone involved. It was littered with terrible stories regarding personnel/staff treatment.

I hire people at my company, and I can tell you there is a less than ZERO chance I would ever hire someone that has a history not only of mistreating subordinates, but also one of suing a former employer. Is that "black-balling"? Of course not. It's reality. Why would anyone EVER want to bring that into their building?

Black-balling directly implies that there was a directive issued by the NFL league office to not hire this person. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

To me, the interviews would be everything. I would want to hear what he has to say about what he learned during his time in Miami. I would want to hear personal accountability, I would want to hear some contrition, and most importantly I would want to hear a clear and concise plan about the future of the franchise, potential OC/DC decisions, etc.

I just don't see it though. There are always going to be too many other good choices out there to risk giving him the keys to your multi-billion dollar company. There's nothing wrong with being one of the elite DC's in the league, one of the most respected DC's in football and making $4-$5M/year without the headaches of the HC job.
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Given he’s a premier coordinator and hasn’t been interviewed since, just using it as a general term as owners clearly have overlooked numerous other guys with indiscretion/personnel issues in the past and if it was just that he was bad on personnel, then wtf are we doing in MN employing him?

Is just interesting he has remained without an interview. I don’t blame owners, but if we’re just rolling resumes out there, his is absolutely in the mix/getting interviews if you detach the lawsuit and the personnel stuff clearly vikes players love him (see Murphy comments recently for example)
 

upnorthkid said:
Given he’s a premier coordinator and hasn’t been interviewed since, just using it as a general term as owners clearly have overlooked numerous other guys with indiscretion/personnel issues in the past and if it was just that he was bad on personnel, then wtf are we doing in MN employing him?

Is just interesting he has remained without an interview. I don’t blame owners, but if we’re just rolling resumes out there, his is absolutely in the mix/getting interviews if you detach the lawsuit and the personnel stuff clearly vikes players love him (see Murphy comments recently for example)
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He’s the reason Harry came back this year, per Lewis, FWIW
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
He’s the reason Harry came back this year, per Lewis, FWIW
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they seem like they have a super cool relationship with calling multiple plays and being able to audible on the field. defensively seems like a super fun system to play in

obviously the stuff about destroying Tua's confidence ain't great, but at the same time he's a very mediocre QB with serious limitations that even an "offensive", more touchy feely players coach in McDaniel couldn't get to be consistently good
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
The above bolded actually incorrect per a post (see link below) I made on 12/3 following the Seahawk game; the information I cited was from Alex Lewis’ the Vikings beat reporter for The Athletic. Below the first link, is a link to the article on 12/1.

You’re stating your opinion without any third party attestation vs. me quoting a source inside Winter Park; no one gets them all right kiddo🤷‍♂️

Post in thread 'All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread'
https://gopherhole.com/boards/threa...-vikings-in-season-thread.118929/post-3232804

Post in thread 'All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread'
https://gopherhole.com/boards/threa...-vikings-in-season-thread.118929/post-3231383
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Nothing I can see in either of those posts provides any evidence that the Wilfs forced Darnold to be released in favor of playing McCarthy.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
The above bolded actually incorrect per a post (see link below) I made on 12/3 following the Seahawk game; the information I cited was from Alex Lewis’ the Vikings beat reporter for The Athletic. Below the first link, is a link to the article on 12/1.

You’re stating your opinion without any third party attestation vs. me quoting a source inside Winter Park; no one gets them all right kiddo🤷‍♂️

Post in thread 'All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread'
https://gopherhole.com/boards/threa...-vikings-in-season-thread.118929/post-3232804

Post in thread 'All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread'
https://gopherhole.com/boards/threa...-vikings-in-season-thread.118929/post-3231383
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I have no idea what a ban bet is.

If you're offering to voluntarily not post in this thread for some amount of time when Rodgers and the Steelers beat the Ravens in Pittsburgh this week, that's of no value or interest to me. Post as much or as little as you like. If I don't like one of your posts, I'll just skip past it and not comment on it.
 
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Ope3 said:
You moved the Goal Posts.

I don't claim to know Jack Squat about Long Snappers. I only knew Jacksonville had a Pro Bowl Long Snapper because Greg Olsen mentioned him in the Jags-Colts game. I found it humourous someone on this board of previously seemed to infer that they had as many as the Vikings. Multiple times.

They did not get shut out.

Jags - 1
Vikes - 0

If the Vikings Long Snapper qualified (as he did the 3 previous seasons) then my original post on Tuesday would not included a blank list of home town honorees.

FOX9 also deemed it noteworthy that the Vikings were goose egged for the first time since 2014 and 3rd time ever.

No Vikings added to Pro Bowl roster for 1st time since 2014 | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

For the first time in more than a decade, no Minnesota Vikings players will be on the NFL's Pro Bowl roster.
www.fox9.com www.fox9.com

Last year the Vikings had 7 Pro Bowl representatives. I suppose that was aided by going 14-3 last year.

I hope you send the Sports Director at KMSP your comments about the Jags. Give them hell!

Still hope for the Purple faithful. Could get an injury replacement or fill in for a Super Bowl player I suppose.
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I did move the goalposts, about 1mm.

Enjoy that victory, I expect to see you dancing naked in the street. :)


Of course, I did also still completely blow up your point of bringing it up without any further context as a way to try to bash the Wilfs (let's be honest, that's your fetish) and lesser extent the Vikings in general.
 

coolhandgopher said:
My goodness, you say so many ridiculous things on this thread, but I can’t let this one pass. For a number of years now, neuroscientists have established that the human brain is not fully developed until age 25. You speak with such assurance about something you are totally off the mark on. Yes, reps matter, but 25 is not interchangeable with 22 (not in football and not in life).
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Since you didn't include a link and since I don't know if you have the authority to make this statement (maybe you are a neuroscientist yourself?), I asked ChatGPT.

I'll leave the full detail below, but the TL;DR is: I grant you the point on this minor technical clarification, but my greater point still stands (that being 25 years old, in of itself, is a useless distinction over being 22 years old, in of itself, when talking about QB performance within the same draft cohort).



Prompt: What age is a human brain generally considered to have fully matured? And in what sense does the word maturity have to do with mental performance, particularly in quick, athletic analysis and decision making?
Answer:

1. What scientists mean by “brain maturity”​

When neuroscientists say the brain is “fully matured,” they are not saying:
  • that learning stops
  • that performance peaks
  • that younger brains are inferior
  • that judgment suddenly changes on a birthday
They are usually referring to biological development milestones, mainly:

A. Structural maturation​

  • Myelination (insulation of neural pathways) continues into the mid-20s
  • Synaptic pruning (removal of unused connections) refines neural networks
  • These processes are especially prolonged in the prefrontal cortex

B. Network integration​

  • Long-range connections between regions (e.g., emotion ↔ executive control) become more efficient
  • Brain signaling becomes more stable and predictable rather than maximally plastic
The last major region to mature is typically:

The prefrontal cortex — responsible for planning, impulse control, risk evaluation, and long-term consequences.
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This is the basis for the “25 years old” figure.

2. Maturity ≠ peak mental performance​

This is where popular understanding often goes wrong.

Brain maturity mainly means:​

  • Better regulation, not faster thinking
  • Greater consistency, not higher ceiling performance
  • Improved impulse inhibition, not superior reflexes
It does not mean:
  • Faster reaction time
  • Better pattern recognition under time pressure
  • Superior athletic or tactical decision making

3. Quick, athletic analysis and decision-making​

For rapid, real-time decisions (sports, combat, piloting, driving, competitive games), different systems dominate.

These abilities rely heavily on:​

  • Sensorimotor cortex
  • Basal ganglia
  • Cerebellum
  • Well-trained pattern recognition networks
These systems:
  • Mature earlier than the prefrontal cortex
  • Are strongly shaped by repetition and experience, not age alone
  • Often peak in the late teens to early 20s, sometimes earlier
This is why:
  • Elite athletes often peak in reaction speed in their early 20s
  • Teenagers can outperform adults in certain fast-response tasks
  • “Thinking less” can be an advantage in high-speed environments
In these contexts, too much prefrontal involvement can actually slow performance.
 

kg21 said:
Could drop all the way to 20 in the draft.

LOL
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I think non-playoff teams are capped at 18? I could be wrong there.

Since you keep ducking it, I'll just assume you're avoiding having to admit being wrong before about being so nonchalant towards the Vikings slipping in the draft order.
 

GopherGrit said:
Nothing I can see in either of those posts provides any evidence that the Wilfs forced Darnold to be released in favor of playing McCarthy.
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Darnold wasn’t released, he wasn’t resigned🤦‍♂️.

Your comment above contradicts your assertion below of-

GopherGrit said:
KAM and KOC were given free rein to cut Darnold and claim that McCarthy was ready. An incredible blunder
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My guess is you’re @MplsGopher back once again, under yet another alias.

You’re already annoying posters on the football/basketball boards, so it won’t be long before you’re banned yet again, as you can’t help yourself from arguing about anything/everything due to your insecurities - I pity you bro. You’re a sad little man.

Hard pass - You Iggy
 

GopherGrit said:
I have no idea what a ban bet is.
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🐂 💩
GopherGrit said:
If you're offering to voluntarily not post in this thread for some amount of time when Rodgers and the Steelers beat the Ravens in Pittsburgh this week, that's of no value or interest to me. Post as much or as little as you like. If I don't like one of your posts, I'll just skip past it and not comment on it.
Click to expand...
 


upnorthkid said:
Given he’s a premier coordinator and hasn’t been interviewed since, just using it as a general term as owners clearly have overlooked numerous other guys with indiscretion/personnel issues in the past and if it was just that he was bad on personnel, then wtf are we doing in MN employing him?

Is just interesting he has remained without an interview. I don’t blame owners, but if we’re just rolling resumes out there, his is absolutely in the mix/getting interviews if you detach the lawsuit and the personnel stuff clearly vikes players love him (see Murphy comments recently for example)
Click to expand...

I don't think any of us has any idea why he hasn't interviewed. It could very well be that the terms of the ongoing litigation say that he is not to interview. Also, how do we know that he hasn't declined any number of interviews over the last several years? I would guess Flores and his camp would not think it would help his lawsuit if he were to not only have multiple interviews but to actually get an offer. I wouldn't be shocked if he's declined HC interviews the last several years.

A quick internet search indicated that he HAS definitely turned down interviews in recent years, most notably the AZ Cardinals HC job a few years back. He's also said he would turn down any "sham" interviews for a HC job, and I would think it serves his lawsuit to say that most of them ARE sham interviews.
 

I've always found it interesting that people assume if a coach is a good coordinator they should get an opportunity to be a head coach. Being a good coordinator does not automatically make someone a good head coach.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
My guess is you’re @MplsGopher back once again, under yet another alias.

You’re already annoying posters on the football/basketball boards, so it won’t be long before you’re banned yet again, as you can’t help yourself from arguing about anything/everything due to your insecurities - I pity you bro. You’re a sad little man.
Click to expand...

I'm not the smartest guy in the world but I sniffed this one out many, many months ago. I've been trying to tell some of you but some things just have to be figured out on your own
 

GophersInIowa said:
I've always found it interesting that people assume if a coach is a good coordinator they should get an opportunity to be a head coach. Being a good coordinator does not automatically make someone a good head coach.
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Bingo, 100%, nailed it. This is what I've been saying, and many others, for years. The job of an OC/DC and one of a HC could not be much more different. The responsibilities, the demands on your time, the people management, dealing with the media, a conduit from the players to ownership, et al

I might be a tad biased but I think more Special Teams coordinators should be considered for HC jobs. That's John Harbaugh's primary background and he's been an exceptional HC. ST's coaches know both sides of the ball, they know clock management, and they can farm out both the OC and DC gigs to more specialized folks.
 

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