Lifelong Vikings fan now in San Diego. After the season ends, I have some thoughts.
1. Thanks to the media who cover the Vikings and provide information to those of us who follow the team, coaches and players, primarily Vikings.com coverage. I love reading/watching all the coverage.
2. It was a great season. I don’t know at what age I started watching every game possible, but from the mid to late 70’s I followed every season, with ups and downs. Even though the last two games didn’t go as desired (see below), a team that was expected to win 6.5 games came together as a team, the individuals stepped up, the stars played as a team and the coaches brought out the best in every player and group. . It was a fun season to be a fan.
3. One team wins the Super Bowl every year. Two teams reach the Super Bowl. Every other team has heartbreak, or what could have been. I would much rather be 14-3, than 6-11, or 4-13, or any other record that requires you to work hard without having to listen to other teams’ fans. The Vikings, as a whole, have played very well all year.
4. Somehow the loss, as bad as it was, made it easier to accept. I told those watching with me, “They have 10 points, we have 1 yard. Game over.” It’s nowhere near as painful as it was in 1998 or 2009.
5. I love KO and hope he will be our coach for many years. Uniting the team and making them exceed expectations the way he did couldn’t have been done by many, if any, other coaches. That said, the last two weeks could have had more quick slants, jet sweeps, maybe even some RB throws back. Enough to alleviate the pressure that the defensive fronts were putting on us. I hope lessons were learned there.
6. I’m super happy that Sam Darnold had such a good year and experienced success that he hasn’t seen before in his career. I didn’t think he was a potential long term QB for us, but mostly because of money. If he had said he would do another year for $15 million, I would have said I was for that. The last two weeks have convinced me that JJ McCarthy (and maybe Daniel Jones?) is the right path for next year and beyond.
7. I hope Harrison Smith returns for at least a year. I respect players who only play for one team in their career, and for the Vikings, only Mick Tingelhoff (240), Fred Cox (210) and Scott Studwell (201) exceed Smith’s 192 games played (according to pro-football-reference.com). I don’t want him to come back just to move up the roster, but he’s been a great player to watch, and he’s an integral part of our defense and our team. The numbers just show how long he’s been with the team and how rare such a long career is on a team, and this isn’t a player who thinks he can get a higher percentage elsewhere.
8. I questioned the Kwesi hiring, but I don’t think there’s ever been a better group of free agent signings than this year. Those before the start of the season and those from mid-season as well. I know there are a lot of factors in their success, but he has attracted good to great players who seem to be great teammates, and I think Minnesota is now known for a place where other free agents will want to come .
After all of this, I will summarize that I am proud to be a Viking fan. Some players will most likely move to other teams. Some coaches might move on to other teams, although I hope they also feel that more money elsewhere may not be more attractive than what is built here. I think the future is bright and I’m excited about the offseason and what’s to come next year.
— Bruce J. in San Diego, California
Thanks for the positive comments on the cover and to everyone who has reached this far in the Mailbag.
There’s a lot to like about Bruce’s comments. The line about “It was a fun season to be a fan.” made me think of the end of The Office, where Ed Helms’ character Andy Bernard says, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the ‘good old days’ before you leave them.” Someone should write a song about this.
Ideally, for anyone who supports the Vikings, this won’t be looked back on as this period, but rather a 14-win season and the franchise’s move closer to the Super Bowl. The Vikings have improved during the tenures of Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell (I still argue that Minnesota would have made the playoffs in 2023 if Cousins hadn’t suffered the injury to Achilles, it would therefore have been three years in a row). We saw a pattern of moving forward and backward over the years as new challenges emerged. So the next step is trying to make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2008-09.
Regarding point 7, these are the correct regular season numbers for the Vikings who spent their entire career with Minnesota. Smith has already reached rare air and his motivation in returning would be to continue to have a positive impact on games.
This is arguably one of the best free agency achievements in franchise history and among the most impactful in the league. Some were added via multi-year deals and others played on one-year contracts. The exact mix of players will change, but there is a lot to look forward to in the future.
