The NFL offseason may not have officially begun, but that doesn’t mean we’re without important news and developments regarding our favorite football team.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
FLORES LOOKS TO BE STAYING!
With Mike McCarthy taking the Pittsburgh Steelers job and a fresh, new extension in hand, it appears that Brian Flores will be back as the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator. To my knowledge, no other interviews have taken place. Of course, as we are the Vikings, watch Flores be named the new coach of the Las Vegas Raiders by the end of the week.
Barring the unexpected, this is fantastic news. You won’t find a bigger Flores guy than me. One of my first DN articles examined his background in New England and the promise of the 2025 Vikings defense after two years at the helm, marked by dramatic improvement. It was a solid take. I somewhat overestimated the impact of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, but Jalen Redmond’s emergence balanced that out. My concerns about the secondary also proved unfounded, as the unit held up reasonably well.
We were indeed an elite, well-oiled defensive machine by the final third of the season. In the end, we finished 3rd in yards allowed per game, 2nd in passing yards (fewest per game since 1989, apparently), 7th in points per game, 9th in run defense DVOA, 3rd in defensive DVOA, and 4th in overall defensive DVOA per play, among other impressive showings. If the turnovers come more consistently next year, we could be looking at something historic.
We enter 2026 with a Super Bowl-caliber defense, and all eyes turn to KOC and J.J. McCarthy to deliver on their end of the bargain. There will be plenty of time over the next several months to discuss that. Right now, I’m optimistic.
PETTINE TAKES THE “HIGH ROAD”
Mike Pettine’s comment about not “seeing eye to eye on a lot of things” with Flores was widely circulated on the Internet and social media. As assistant head coach, this forced him to switch sides of the ball and focus on offense in 2025. He didn’t elaborate further.
My take? I never understood the Pettine role to begin with. Yes, I know he and KOC are close and crossed paths in Cleveland – and that Pettine gave him his first NFL coaching gig. Yet the defensive role never seemed to fit. Given the circumstances, it felt like an uncomfortable situation waiting to happen. Too many cooks in the kitchen. He should have been strictly a head advisor/confidant, giving KOC sound advice and even tough love when things went sideways.
Pettine’s the guy you bring in when you promote a position coach, whether from within or from outside, to be a first-time defensive coordinator. An experienced guy to make sure all the bases are covered, offer constructive input, and serve as a sounding board for a young, promising, but inexperienced coach. To help steady the waters during the highs and lows that define the long NFL season.
Ed Donatell wasn’t that. Brian Flores really wasn’t that. The former had been in the NFL for almost 35 years when he came here, with three stints as an NFL defensive coordinator before taking the Vikings job. Flores spent his career learning from Bill Belichick, arguably the greatest defensive mind in NFL history. He was the de facto defensive coordinator and play caller in his final season there, winning the Super Bowl and handing Sean McVay his lunch by holding the young offensive wunderkind to…checks notes…three points. And, of course, he was an NFL head coach in his own right.
Flores knows what he’s doing and how he wants to do it. He’s focused like a laser on the task at hand. The fact that he didn’t see eye-to-eye with Pettine isn’t shocking. It must also be said that I’ve heard nothing but praise from Vikings’ defensive players about Flores since he arrived here.
I wish Pettine all the best in retirement. He’s a heck of a coach and ran one of my favorite defensive units of the past 25 years: the New York Jets, who made back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 2009-10. They took down the #1 seed, 14-2 Brady and Belichick, in Foxborough, too. Jets’ fans sure wish they had that back. Oof.
DARONTE JONES TO WASHINGTON
Brian Flores will be without one of his key assistants in 2026, as Daronte Jones was named the Washington Commanders’ new defensive coordinator. As the defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator, Jones will leave a significant void. As noted above, the Vikings allowed the fewest passing yards per game this year since Batman was all the rage. Not the Christian Bale ones, mind you. We’re talking Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson here.
The Vikings have been excellent across regimes at nurturing tremendous young coaching talent. Just last season, we lost Grant Udinski, who became Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator. The result was Trevor Lawrence’s best season, as the Jags went 13-4. It wouldn’t shock me one bit if Jones has a similar, immediate positive impact on the Commanders’ defense. Yeah, they’re going to be good.
A well-deserved promotion. Best of luck, Daronte Jones! Except when you play us next year, of course.
LET’S GO THERE: SAM DARNOLD IS IN THE SUPER BOWL
After Sam Darnold cooled off considerably in the second half of the season (1,963 passing yards, 9 TDs, 9 INTs, 18 sacks taken, Weeks 10-18), he played the game of his life last Sunday (346 passing yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 82.9 QBR/127.8 rating) to propel the Seattle Seahawks to their fourth Super Bowl in 30 years. The Vikings haven’t appeared in one in 49 years.
And be prepared for it to get worse. I think there is a real possibility the Seahawks will run the Patriots out of the building on February 8th.
This doesn’t even make the Top 10 of gut punches this franchise has delivered to me over the decades. Reading through Vikings-related social media and websites, I’m apparently in the minority.
First, I like Sam Darnold and feel great for him. His career is a feel-good story that only professional sports can deliver. The fact that he was here for only one year adds to the sense of, I dunno, apathy? If Cousins went to Atlanta and won the Super Bowl in 2024, that would have been different.
Second, I don’t have strong feelings about the Seahawks. They’re just another NFC team to me. If he’d gone to the Packers and done this, it would have been an unmitigated disaster and hit a lot harder.
Third, there’s a reason the saying about “assumptions” exists. To say that because he led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, it’s a given he would have led the Vikings there is a shaky proposition.
The Seahawks were by far the more balanced offense. They were tied for 10th in the NFL in rushing yards per game. The Vikings were 23rd.
Our offensive line was ravaged by injuries this year, to the point that we started 20 different line combinations over the 17-game season. Even with more consistent, healthier offensive line play in Seattle, Darnold led the NFL with 20 total turnovers. It’s not wild to think he could have surpassed that with KOC’s QB-reliant, pass-heavy scheme. We also forced too few turnovers, ranking 30th in turnover differential at -9. Even with all of Darnold’s turnovers, the Seahawks were at -3.
May I direct you to the 2010 Minnesota Vikings as supporting evidence? Many an “expert” had us destined for the Super Bowl after we thoroughly outplayed the eventual champion Saints in their building, and Brett Favre decided to run it back. I certainly did. Of course, we went 6-10, and Brad Childress didn’t make it to December.
Lastly – and most importantly – I believe in J.J. McCarthy. He is our QBOTF. If you were among the two dozen or so Vikings fans who were on board with bringing Darnold back at 3 years/$100 million with $55 million guaranteed after his spectacular implosion, with a Top 10-drafted QB sitting there, then congrats. You deserve a ton of praise. You look like a genius right now. Take a bow.
I just saw that our own Christopher Gates wrote about it here. Indeed, revisionist history is the worst kind of history.
The bottom line: We still have no idea what McCarthy is or what his ceiling could be. He could be a disappointment, or he could be our Patrick Mahomes. This is what drafting a QB in the Top 10 is. It’s a process, and you can’t just give up after 10 starts.
That said, the pressure is on for 2026, ramped up to hysterical levels now that Flores is back. KOC needs to win in the playoffs. To do so means McCarthy builds on his strong second half, has a stellar offseason, and takes the requisite steps to be everything we expected him to be. If it doesn’t happen, we could be staring at an entirely new regime in 2027.
Let’s keep the faith.
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