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)
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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).
 

Brandel wouldn't be a terrible choice to start at Center for the Purple next season.

 



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.
 

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