All Things 2026 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

Donate To GopherHole
Well this f*ng sucks. I really liked Alexander as a candidate. I wonder what the Chargers promised him to stick around


 
Last edited:


Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
I took the Vikings OVER 8.5 wins so this is right in that ballpark.

But last in the NFC North? No. I very much doubt that. Way too much that can go wrong for the other 3 teams (like it did with injuries for the Vikings last season) to go on a slide. That and none of the teams is head and shoulders above the rest.

For some reason (injury I guess?), Caleb Banks is NOT available for betting on my app for Defensive ROY. Golday, Big Citrus, even Charles Demmings, but no Banks. WTF. I threw a few bucks on Golday. If Cashman gets hurt (not impossible obviously), Golday could step in and make a big impact.

Call me crazy, but I also threw a few bones on not only Kyler Murray to be MVP but JJ McCarthy. Hey, it could happen!!!
Click to expand...

I’m all in on the Murray bet 😍. What are the odds?
 




howeda7 said:
I predict Rob B will be "Director of Football Operations" and one of the others will be hired as GM under him.
Click to expand...

So I was thinking about the GM situation and Rob B and this at least somewhat closely mirrors my thoughts on hiring.

Hiring internally to fill an opening is a double-edged sword, so to speak. On the plus side, it's good for morale, it's the "devil you know", and other staff can see that there's room for advancement if you put in the work. That's all good.

On the flip side, you are still short a body, you have not ADDED any talent to your company/organization, you've essentially just created another hole. Additionally, I always thought a prime position is a chance to steal high level talent from a competitor/team, which also helps your side, so it's a double benefit; weaken another entity, strengthen yours.

Long story short, if it's a close call from a talent evaluation, not a bad thing to hire the internal guy. But if one of those external candidates is head and shoulders above, it's a no-brainer, you have to bypass your internal guy and make a move.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
So I was thinking about the GM situation and Rob B and this at least somewhat closely mirrors my thoughts on hiring.

Hiring internally to fill an opening is a double-edged sword, so to speak. On the plus side, it's good for morale, it's the "devil you know", and other staff can see that there's room for advancement if you put in the work. That's all good.

On the flip side, you are still short a body, you have not ADDED any talent to your company/organization, you've essentially just created another hole. Additionally, I always thought a prime position is a chance to steal high level talent from a competitor/team, which also helps your side, so it's a double benefit; weaken another entity, strengthen yours.

Long story short, if it's a close call from a talent evaluation, not a bad thing to hire the internal guy. But if one of those external candidates is head and shoulders above, it's a no-brainer, you have to bypass your internal guy and make a move.
Click to expand...
Not to mention that if they go with Brezinski, they just paid a search firm $500,000.00 to go with the interim guy.

It's not a good look when an Assistant GM declines a chance to interview for his own gig. There must be more to that story or he just simply doesn't want to deal with Ope.
 


What does a GM actually do that actually earns him the big bucks?

I guarantee that there isn't a GM in the NFL, and hasn't been for a long time, that would (dare) openly defy the desires of a head coach (and coordinators) on which players they want.

I don't believe for a second there is a GM out there saying "you look here coach, I know better. These are the guys I want for our roster, and I'm going to go sign them. Now you go make it work"

No such thing.


So why not just let KOC be in charge of what offensive players are on the roster, Flores do the same for the defense, and Rob B goes out and signs them and works the cap.


What more do we "need" out of it, than that???
 



Overy simplistic. KOC would want all offensive players drafted. Flores all defense. GM has to make the final call on needs, player rating, and when to pull trigger on each.
 

Danny Bs Sunday sermons runs Cordell and Cordell ads. You have worked hard to create the life you know and you need to protect your assets from your spouse and children.
 

TNGophfan said:
Overy simplistic. KOC would want all offensive players drafted. Flores all defense. GM has to make the final call on needs, player rating, and when to pull trigger on each.
Click to expand...
KOC quite clearly is just fine with defensive players being drafted. You're not serious if you think that only happened because Kwesi and Rob B overruled him?? Come on.

And the draft is but one small part of the season. Free agency, trades, being the head of the overall scouting/talent evaluation organization. Then executing on all those, contracts, managing the cap.

Rob B can do all of that perfectly.

For the one small thing you highlight, sure he can be tie-breaker if KOC and Flores disagree.

Quite obviously Flores has high influence and that was probably a condition on him coming here and then coming back.


I've yet to see a valid argument for why we need a new outsider to come in.
 

Also, if the plan really was to bring in an outsider .... why wouldn't you want that person to come do the draft?? Makes no sense

Therefore, it should be Rob B, with KOC and Flores obviously doing a lot of the job (already).
 



GopherGrit said:
KOC quite clearly is just fine with defensive players being drafted. You're not serious if you think that only happened because Kwesi and Rob B overruled him?? Come on.

And the draft is but one small part of the season. Free agency, trades, being the head of the overall scouting/talent evaluation organization. Then executing on all those, contracts, managing the cap.

Rob B can do all of that perfectly.

For the one small thing you highlight, sure he can be tie-breaker if KOC and Flores disagree.

Quite obviously Flores has high influence and that was probably a condition on him coming here and then coming back.


I've yet to see a valid argument for why we need a new outsider to come in.
Click to expand...
So what happened the last 4 years? Did KOC and Flores defer to Kwesi for our picks? If, as you say, KOC and Flores had considerable say in the draft, then their evaluation of talent is also lacking.
Not saying Bob B can't do the job, but it sure would be nice to have someone who is proven for having a great eye for talent.
 

Yes, the message after Kwesi was fired was that Kwesi overruled everyone with bad picks and this includes MCCarthy. Kwesi didn’t help himself with those stupid interviews were said over and over again ‘yeah, I don’t make it to the practice field. I am usually in my office’.
 

TNGophfan said:
So what happened the last 4 years? Did KOC and Flores defer to Kwesi for our picks? If, as you say, KOC and Flores had considerable say in the draft, then their evaluation of talent is also lacking.
Not saying Bob B can't do the job, but it sure would be nice to have someone who is proven for having a great eye for talent.
Click to expand...
Last four years:

2023 - Addison, top player, Blackmon they traded, Jay Ward still on team
2024 - JJM, complete and total bust, Dallas Turner, likely Pro Bowl talent, Khyree Jackson, sadly died in car crash
2025 - Jackson, OL starter as a rookie, Tai Felton, TBD but probably less chance for impact now that they signed Jennigs, Ingram-Dawkins, they like and will get rotational playing time
2026 - Banks, future Pro Bowl talent, Golday, Orange, and Thomas all potentially looking for playing time this year, Tiernan hopefully can just learn behind two fully healthy high talent OTs but may be needed.

Only JJM was a massive bust, and there can be no doubt that KOC was as responsible for that pick as Kwesi was.


What person who has a proven eye for picking talent, isn't already well embedded in an NFL front office, and wants to come here?
 








GopherGrit said:
Last four years:

2023 - Addison, top player, Blackmon they traded, Jay Ward still on team
2024 - JJM, complete and total bust, Dallas Turner, likely Pro Bowl talent, Khyree Jackson, sadly died in car crash
2025 - Jackson, OL starter as a rookie, Tai Felton, TBD but probably less chance for impact now that they signed Jennigs, Ingram-Dawkins, they like and will get rotational playing time
2026 - Banks, future Pro Bowl talent, Golday, Orange, and Thomas all potentially looking for playing time this year, Tiernan hopefully can just learn behind two fully healthy high talent OTs but may be needed.

Only JJM was a massive bust, and there can be no doubt that KOC was as responsible for that pick as Kwesi was.


What person who has a proven eye for picking talent, isn't already well embedded in an NFL front office, and wants to come here?
Click to expand...
All i would say is they really didnt hit on the round 3 - 7 picks. You need to get a couple players each year from those picks.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Frank Abagnale didn't need a real license to fly
Click to expand...
Ope3 said:
Underrated Spielberg film. I need to add that to my "re-visit" list.
Click to expand...

By the way, not sure if this is legit or not or if anyone else saw but didn't it recently come out that Frank made up pretty much all of that shit? Like the real con was the entire story about what he did, that was made into the movie and who knows what else?

I'm too lazy to check but I thought I saw that recently, that he came out with that in a recent interview
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
By the way, not sure if this is legit or not or if anyone else saw but didn't it recently come out that Frank made up pretty much all of that shit? Like the real con was the entire story about what he did, that was made into the movie and who knows what else?

I'm too lazy to check but I thought I saw that recently, that he came out with that in a recent interview
Click to expand...
Yes, pretty much.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
By the way, not sure if this is legit or not or if anyone else saw but didn't it recently come out that Frank made up pretty much all of that shit? Like the real con was the entire story about what he did, that was made into the movie and who knows what else?

I'm too lazy to check but I thought I saw that recently, that he came out with that in a recent interview
Click to expand...
Yeah, I believe a lot of it is BS
 


Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
By the way, not sure if this is legit or not or if anyone else saw but didn't it recently come out that Frank made up pretty much all of that shit? Like the real con was the entire story about what he did, that was made into the movie and who knows what else?

I'm too lazy to check but I thought I saw that recently, that he came out with that in a recent interview
Click to expand...
I think that might be one of Leo's best acting roles but his other biographical movie as Jordan Belfort (WOWS) was even more entertaining. Jonah Hill blew me away in that flick considering the only other thing I'd seen him in was 'Superbad'.
 

Slim Tubby said:
I think that might be one of Leo's best acting roles but his other biographical movie as Jordan Belfort (WOWS) was even more entertaining. Jonah Hill blew me away in that flick considering the only other thing I'd seen him in was 'Superbad'.
Click to expand...
Leo was also really good as Howard Hughes in The Aviator.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom