After Sunday’s first Vikings loss of the season there were fans calling for the head coach to be replaced. That irrational reaction is the result of a problem at quarterback and the frustration of watching the struggling offense through seven games.
The Wilf ownership isn’t going to part ways with Kevin O’Connell in the middle of a season where the team’s 6-1 record is at the top of the NFL along with the Bills and 49ers. That’s unthinkable to change leadership under such circumstances unless there was a headline making personal issue. Good citizen, personable and well-liked KOC isn’t going to have any off-field embarrassments.
O’Connell, in his fifth season as head coach, has two seasons when his teams won 13 and 14 games respectively. His overall record is 49-26 in regular season games. By all accounts he’s liked by ownership.
It’s a whimsical thought that defensive whiz Brian Flores should replace O’Connell this fall. Flores’ work over three-plus seasons with the Vikings as defensive coordinator is elite. Give O’Connell credit for hiring him and providing the authority to be successful.
A future where Flores has a head NFL job may not be far off, but he’ll have to prove he’s more capable than during his stretch from 2019-2021 as field boss of the Dolphins who produced a 24-25 regular season record. Brilliant coordinators don’t always succeed as head coaches.
A poor record and situation where the Vikings can’t find success with a quarterback will eventually threaten O’Connell’s job security. The 2026 record is the envy of most teams so far, but the Vikings are facing a competitive stretch of games that is a level up from earlier in the season. That started yesterday in their 19-15 loss to the 5-2 Lions and continues next Monday night at home against the Bills.
It looks like Minnesota will have to compete for a division title and postseason entry with subpar quarterback play. There’s repetition with Kyler Murray’s passing, forcing balls and fluttering them. His short stature (listed at a seemingly generous 5-foot-10) is an impediment to sometimes seeing his receivers. A gifted runner, he seems reluctant to be a more frequent ball carrier and add that element as a threat to defenses.
Fans are calling for 33-year-old Carson Wentz to replace Murray, 29. Wentz might be an upgrade but there’s a reason the 6-foot-5 and 237-pound North Dakota native is now with his sixth NFL team and is a backup in Minnesota where the Vikings have been trying to find an answer at quarterback since 2025 when Sam Darnold left to join the Seahawks. Wentz’s career has included top performances followed by duds, with inconsistent passing and some tendency for fumbling.
Turning up the heat on criticism is the September trade that sent quarterback J.J. McCarthy to the Giants in return for a 2027 fifth round future draft choice. The sample size is small after appearing in just three games and starting one, but he has earned the trust of the coaching staff in New York and become the starter. The Giants had a bye week last weekend but on October 25 McCarthy completed 20 of 25 passes, with no picks, and led the Giants to a 27-21 win in overtime against the Texans.
McCarthy, just 23, was the Vikings No. 1 draft choice in 2024. He started 10 games in 2025 and was in a competition last off-season with Murray to be the team’s starter.
It seemed premature to part with McCarthy so soon, despite his injuries and inconsistency. Count former Vikings linebacker Pete Najarian among those believers.
Najarian, also a former Gopher, watched McCarthy in practice last summer and was impressed. He told Sports Headliners McCarthy throws the “long ball better than anybody.”
By that he meant anyone on the Vikings and that McCarthy ranks with the best in the NFL for arm strength and accuracy on the deep ball. Najarian also questions the wisdom of moving on from a prospect with a relatively inexpensive rookie contract and only receiving a fifth-round future draft choice from the Giants. (A contingency clause that had the Vikings receiving more if McCarthy achieved certain benchmarks makes sense.)
How ironic if the Giants, with McCarthy leading the offense, meet up in a playoff game against the Vikings in January?
Worth Noting
The Vikings had the possibility of not only retaining Darnold but before that Kirk Cousins. The strategy instead was to spend major payroll money not on them but to upgrade at other positions.
Darnold, 29, led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win last February. And at 38, Cousins continues to excel.
Yesterday Cousins threw three touchdown passes and ran for another for the 4-4 Raiders who are in playoff contention. He is only the second NFL quarterback 38-or-older to have three touchdown passes, a rushing touchdown and a passer rating of 140-or-higher in a single game. The other QB is Drew Brees with the Saints in 2018.
Titans’ safety Amani Hooker, the Park Center and Iowa alum, had a career-high three interceptions yesterday.
Speaking of fans, Indiana patrons had the unmitigated gall to boo their Hoosiers during Saturday’s game with the Golden Gophers in Bloomington. With a history of dismal football, the Hoosiers miraculously turned around in 2024, won the national championship after the 2025 regular season and were ranked No. 4 in the nation when hosting Minnesota. Coach Curt Cignetti’s work in Bloomington is unprecedented in college football, yet ungrateful and spoiled fans had the audacity to boo their team in a game ultimately won by Indiana in overtime, 23-16.
Minnesota, 5-3, is somewhat a mirror image of the Vikings, with a struggling offense, often superb defense and lights out field goal kicker. The Gophers have three touchdowns in their last three games. Senior Luke Drzewiecki produced 24 of Minnesota’s 49 points in those games on field goals and extra points.
Drzewiecki, who is 15 of 15 on field goals including a 60-yarder that almost won the Indiana game, is the best at what he does in Gopher history based on his accuracy and range. Special teams coach Daniel Da Prado, so influential in bringing Drzewiecki to Dinkytown, might be the best assistant head coach hire by P.J. Fleck in his 10 seasons at Minnesota. His retention should be a top priority.
The Gopher defense, despite blowout losses to Mississippi State and Purdue, ranks No. 22 nationally in yards given up per game at 305. In trophy game wins over Michigan and Iowa Minnesota gave up a total of 24 points and held Indiana to 16 in regulation.
Saint John’s senior quarterback Trey Feeney, who has completed a MIAC single game record 51 passes for the unbeaten and No. 3 ranked Johnnies, is the son of Moorhead coach Kevin Feeney and older brother of Spuds quarterback and Gopher commit Jett Feeney.
Word is the Timberwolves and city of Minneapolis are still identifying a site for a new arena to replace Target Center. It’s believed that gubernatorial candidates Amy Klobuchar and Lisa Demuth would be at least somewhat supportive of discussing state financing for major arenas and stadiums. Private financing seems likely to pay for much of the new arena cost.
Today is the final day for MLB teams to extend one-year qualifying offers to eligible free agents. No word on the Twins and catcher Ryan Jeffers yet. The club has already declined to make a $10 million offer to Josh Bell.
William Tucker, son of former Gophers and NBA basketball player Trent Tucker, is a junior defenseman at Eden Prairie High School and committed to play at Yale.
It is a busy week at the University of Minnesota with matchups that include men’s hockey No. 1 ranked Wisconsin in town for games Thursday and Saturday nights. The volleyball team hosts Penn State Friday night, and undefeated UCLA has a morning kickoff against the football Gophers on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium. After the men’s basketball team plays at home tonight against North Dakota, the Gophers host St. Thomas Friday evening.