All Things 2022 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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If the Vikes hire Harbaugh, the coach will be 18 years older than the general manager. Has that ever happened before?
 


Gophers_4life said:
Had the 2021 experiment with Stafford and the Rams failed with a San Francisco 49ers defeat, a little bit of stink would exist on Los Angeles trading expansive draft capital to get their man. But there is no stink now.

It worked for Stafford – even though he made humongous, naughty mistakes in spots throughout the 2021 season. Cousins makes those, too. However, Stafford’s teammates masked those errors, sending the Rams to the Super Bowl.

That can happen to Cousins, too, if the Vikings want to move on. And now, because of the Los Angeles experiment, Cousins’ trade price tag is higher.
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Humongous naughty mistakes?
 



Great read and a deep dive, both statistically and psychologically.

Not specifically stated in the article but permeating the whole thing is a troublesome aspect of Kirk's personality: his stubbornness. It's reasonable to ask whether he's coachable. That's one aspect of Zimmer's downfall where I'm sympathetic to the coach. IF, and it's a big if, they bring in Harbaugh, that's the factor that the new coach will value over all else: will this guy accept my coaching and leadership, or do I need to find someone more coachable? Way more important than his throwing ability in my opinion.
 


Bad Gopher said:

Great read and a deep dive, both statistically and psychologically.

Not specifically stated in the article but permeating the whole thing is a troublesome aspect of Kirk's personality: his stubbornness. It's reasonable to ask whether he's coachable. That's one aspect of Zimmer's downfall where I'm sympathetic to the coach. IF, and it's a big if, they bring in Harbaugh, that's the factor that the new coach will value over all else: will this guy accept my coaching and leadership, or do I need to find someone more coachable? Way more important than his throwing ability in my opinion.
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Honestly, at this point it doesn't really matter. Kirk is here for one more year unless they find a trade partner. With the defense as it is, they're not going to be elite next year no matter what they do at QB.

That headline is quite hyperbole to get some clicks. There is no way this is a difficult QB decision. Cousins rides out his contract, gets cut next offseason, and KAM brings in "his" guy in 2023. OR he drafts his guy this year to sit behind Cousins for a year.
 

forever a gopher said:
Honestly, at this point it doesn't really matter. Kirk is here for one more year unless they find a trade partner. With the defense as it is, they're not going to be elite next year no matter what they do at QB.

That headline is quite hyperbole to get some clicks. There is no way this is a difficult QB decision. Cousins rides out his contract, gets cut next offseason, and KAM brings in "his" guy in 2023. OR he drafts his guy this year to sit behind Cousins for a year.
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He'll either be traded or extended. There's no way he's playing one more year at a $45 million cap hit. He can easily be traded. There are about 12 teams desperate for QB's about about 4 decent ones available. He's one of the 4.
 

howeda7 said:
He'll either be traded or extended. There's no way he's playing one more year at a $45 million cap hit. He can easily be traded. There are about 12 teams desperate for QB's about about 4 decent ones available. He's one of the 4.
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I agree. JH would want to win right away, and if he concludes the most important position on the team is somebody he can't work with, that won't work.
 

Bad Gopher said:

Great read and a deep dive, both statistically and psychologically.

Not specifically stated in the article but permeating the whole thing is a troublesome aspect of Kirk's personality: his stubbornness. It's reasonable to ask whether he's coachable. That's one aspect of Zimmer's downfall where I'm sympathetic to the coach. IF, and it's a big if, they bring in Harbaugh, that's the factor that the new coach will value over all else: will this guy accept my coaching and leadership, or do I need to find someone more coachable? Way more important than his throwing ability in my opinion.
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I mean, Mike Zimmer has never been known to be stubborn or hard to work with...
 



Glen Mason chimes in per Shama:

University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh will interview in Minnesota Wednesday for the Vikings’ job to replace Mike Zimmer. That meeting became public news earlier in the week and indicates how serious Harbaugh is about the Vikings.

“Serious? I don’t know why if you’re the head coach at Michigan—I don’t know why you would do it (the interview) unless you had the job.”

Those words are from former University of Minnesota head coach Glen Mason who spoke with Sports Headliners this morning. Mason spent 19 seasons successfully leading programs at Kansas and Minnesota and was an authoritative voice for years on the Big Ten Network. He said Harbaugh’s interest in the Vikings comes with “ramifications” back in Ann Arbor—involving colleagues and bosses, the Wolverines’ fan base and high school recruits (Wednesday is college football National Signing Day).

All of it sends a message.

To Mason, the interview indicates “you want the job, you want to leave Michigan.” Harbaugh reportedly had an exploratory phone interview with the Vikings’ leadership last Saturday. It’s more than a good guess the conversation and details that followed have been so favorable Harbaugh is willing to risk his reputation with the Michigan job to travel here tomorrow.

Perhaps to sign an already agreed upon deal with the Vikings.

“Jim Harbaugh is a pretty smart guy,” Mason said. “You wouldn’t think that he would leave himself vulnerable there (at Michigan) unless he thought he was at least going to be offered the job. Why would you take that risk?”


Skol Vikes!!
 


Hey Michigan...Mase is rested and ready.
 

howeda7 said:
He'll either be traded or extended. There's no way he's playing one more year at a $45 million cap hit. He can easily be traded. There are about 12 teams desperate for QB's about about 4 decent ones available. He's one of the 4.
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I'm hoping he's traded. If they can find a partner that's willing to extend and re-negotiate his deal and send something to the Vikes, that would be an ideal scenario. But I am of the opinion that they don't have to do anything with him if they don't want. The 2022 cap is $208mil. They currently sit at $222mil. So they're over, but in NFL salary cap terms, not that bad. Hunter currently is a $26mil cap hit. It's likely he is going to get an extension and bring his 2022 cap hit down (unless he wants to ride out 2022 in hopes he rebounds and can hit the UFA market in 2023). Look at their free agents in 2022. Not really anybody they need to resign. If they cut Barr after 6/1 they can kick his $10mil dead cap hit to 2023 when the cap goes up, and they'll likely have a young QB with a much lower salary. Adam Thielen has an $18mil cap hit in 2022- it's likely they re-negotiate with him to lower that number. They'll have to free up money for some free agents to fill holes and sign draft picks, but even with Cousins at $45mil they can make it work.

Unless it's part of a trade, he's not getting re-extended. At whatever number you would have to resign him to, he would become untradeable, which a new GM is not going to want to do with an inherited guy. You also have to look at it from Cousins' perspective. I'm assuming he has a no-trade clause. Which means yes, he can veto any trade he doesn't like. However, they are limited to not only the teams that can pay him, but also the ones that are willing to give up other assets to get him. If he refuses a trade in 2022 and rides out his 2022 contract knowing he will get cut after the season, he then becomes a UFA, and will likely garner a fair amount of suitors and then he's negotiating with multiple teams instead of just one, which means his price goes up. He would also have more options to pick from to determine where he ultimately ends up.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/minnesota-vikings/

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/cap/
 
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GopherWeatherGuy said:
I mean, Mike Zimmer has never been known to be stubborn or hard to work with...
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No kidding. Though not sure if that applied to Mike Shanahan and Jay Gruden. Cousins's Head Coaches when he was at Washington.
 
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BleedGopher said:
Glen Mason chimes in per Shama:

University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh will interview in Minnesota Wednesday for the Vikings’ job to replace Mike Zimmer. That meeting became public news earlier in the week and indicates how serious Harbaugh is about the Vikings.

“Serious? I don’t know why if you’re the head coach at Michigan—I don’t know why you would do it (the interview) unless you had the job.”

Those words are from former University of Minnesota head coach Glen Mason who spoke with Sports Headliners this morning. Mason spent 19 seasons successfully leading programs at Kansas and Minnesota and was an authoritative voice for years on the Big Ten Network. He said Harbaugh’s interest in the Vikings comes with “ramifications” back in Ann Arbor—involving colleagues and bosses, the Wolverines’ fan base and high school recruits (Wednesday is college football National Signing Day).

All of it sends a message.

To Mason, the interview indicates “you want the job, you want to leave Michigan.” Harbaugh reportedly had an exploratory phone interview with the Vikings’ leadership last Saturday. It’s more than a good guess the conversation and details that followed have been so favorable Harbaugh is willing to risk his reputation with the Michigan job to travel here tomorrow.

Perhaps to sign an already agreed upon deal with the Vikings.

“Jim Harbaugh is a pretty smart guy,” Mason said. “You wouldn’t think that he would leave himself vulnerable there (at Michigan) unless he thought he was at least going to be offered the job. Why would you take that risk?”


Skol Vikes!!
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Yep. Makes sense. If Harbaugh has gone public looking at another job, he probably has burned his bridges at Michigan.

Of course Mason took the Georgia job while still at Kansas. Before he quit the job, over custody issues, to go back to Kansas.

But as Glen said, after he tried to get the MSU job while at Minnesota, he'll always "answer" the phone". Harbaugh may have felt the same way.
 


I wonder if the Brian Flores lawsuit will put any pressure on the Vikings to re-consider if they're leaning Harbaugh. Personally, I'll be happy with Raheem Morris, but it seems like he was #3 out of the 4 still under consideration.
 

howeda7 said:
I wonder if the Brian Flores lawsuit will put any pressure on the Vikings to re-consider if they're leaning Harbaugh. Personally, I'll be happy with Raheem Morris, but it seems like he was #3 out of the 4 still under consideration.
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I highly doubt it.
 

boofbonser said:
I highly doubt it.
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If anything, this helps Harbaugh to Minnesota because Miami would be the other option.
And with the Miami news coming out from Flores, jumping in there isn't as attractive as you maybe would have felt previously
 

howeda7 said:
I wonder if the Brian Flores lawsuit will put any pressure on the Vikings to re-consider if they're leaning Harbaugh. Personally, I'll be happy with Raheem Morris, but it seems like he was #3 out of the 4 still under consideration.
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Seen it before
 


Reading between the lines of Mike Max's report tonight, Odofo-Mensah and Harbaugh believe they mesh together and complement each other: Kwesi with analysis and process and JH with an understanding of how to build a functional and complementary team. They seem to think it can work.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I don't see Harbaugh staying at Michigan at this point no matter how much money they throw at him. He's already made a ton of money over his career and will be highly paid in the NFL.

With recruiting becoming more and more difficult due to the transfer portal, plus I believe Harbaugh wants to prove he can win a Super Bowl, the NFL is more attractive to him.

He's leaving Michigan on a high note and in a good spot by finishing out this recruiting cycle after winning a B1G championship, beating Ohio St, and making the CFP. He did that after nearly being fired and taking a big pay cut. Now is the perfect time for him to move back to the NFL.
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I think it's likely that Harbaugh signs with the Vikings. The only wild card is that Dolphins owner Stephen (Steven?) Ross is very very tight with Harbaugh and both are apparently "Michigan men". Ross had always said he would never try to hire Harbaugh away from his beloved Michigan but now that it seems pretty clear JH is leaving, he may try to make a diving save.

Might be unlikely, but if you're somewhat hoping for a Harbaugh hire, it's at least something to think about.
 



Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I think it's likely that Harbaugh signs with the Vikings. The only wild card is that Dolphins owner Stephen (Steven?) Ross is very very tight with Harbaugh and both are apparently "Michigan men". Ross had always said he would never try to hire Harbaugh away from his beloved Michigan but now that it seems pretty clear JH is leaving, he may try to make a diving save.

Might be unlikely, but if you're somewhat hoping for a Harbaugh hire, it's at least something to think about.
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The problem with Miami is it's essentially the same situation the Eagles had with Pederson, and somewhat similar to what Harbaugh dealt with in San Francisco. Pederson was done with Wentz and wanted to move to Hurts full time and the GM didn't agree. Pederson was fired, ended up being right, and Wentz forced his way out anyways.

Flores wanted Herbert over Tua in that draft but the GM disagreed. Flores wanted to move on from Tua this year, but the GM does not want to, which is the main reason he was fired. Harbaugh will likely have more say with Adofo-Mensah in Minnesota than he would in Miami, making the Vikings more attractive.
 

Harbaugh was able to win games with Alex smith and Colin kaepernick, that gives me hope we can either tough out next yeee with cousins or maybe go with mariota or someone of that caliber. I’m not thrilled with the qb class this year so would be fine waiting until next year to fill that need
 

howeda7 said:
I wonder if the Brian Flores lawsuit will put any pressure on the Vikings to re-consider if they're leaning Harbaugh. Personally, I'll be happy with Raheem Morris, but it seems like he was #3 out of the 4 still under consideration.
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And Patrick Graham #4, so both the Black candidates the least likely, and therefore you could easily surmise were just being interviewed for Rooney Rule.

But, to the credit of the Vikings -- and maybe this is due to the lawsuit in part -- they interviewed Morris in person out in Calif and had Graham out at Eagan for 9 hours (!!) yesterday.

So, to the best they can possibly do, hopefully they will avoid any flack from this.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The problem with Miami is it's essentially the same situation the Eagles had with Pederson, and somewhat similar to what Harbaugh dealt with in San Francisco. Pederson was done with Wentz and wanted to move to Hurts full time and the GM didn't agree. Pederson was fired, ended up being right, and Wentz forced his way out anyways.

Flores wanted Herbert over Tua in that draft but the GM disagreed. Flores wanted to move on from Tua this year, but the GM does not want to, which is the main reason he was fired. Harbaugh will likely have more say with Adofo-Mensah in Minnesota than he would in Miami, making the Vikings more attractive.
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[aside] I'm not sure Hurts is the "right" answer for Philly.
 

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