How the first round of offseason news impacts the Vikings
Could John Harbaugh's surprise firing impact Brian Flores' potential opportunities?
By Matthew Coller
It has been an eventful start to the offseason for the teams that are not in the postseason. Let’s have a look at some of the biggest moves that could have ripple effects in Minnesota..
The Dallas Cowboys fire DC Matt Eberflus
It has seemingly been an open secret in the NFL that the Cowboys want to convince Brian Flores to take a “lateral move” and become their defensive coordinator. It was only days after the Vikings’ defense demolished Dallas with their third down QB pressures that longtime Cowboys reporter Ed Werder mentioned Flores’ name in connection with Dallas and then Diana Russini reported their interest this week.
Not that there could be much shock that Eberflus was fired but it’s certainly the first step for Jerry Jones to make his play for Flores.
Why would Flores leave for Dallas? We can only guess considering he has been able to build the Vikings’ defense in his vision and it has been nearly a finished product over the last two years. Plus he essentially has autonomy over the scheme and player decisions (note the free agent acquisitions and decisions to cut younger players). He wouldn’t have anything close to a finished product to take over or autonomy of any kind with Jerry still running the show. However, he would have an opportunity to really show the world what they are missing.
Certainly he has garnered a ton of respect in NFL circles for his unique scheme and the way he has coached his players to morph it on the fly. But the Vikings have not been a front page team while he has been in Minnesota. If he can’t get a head coaching job this year after the defense’s strong performance, then maybe desperate measures are needed. Dallas is on “island” games so often that his story would be told repeatedly and debated every morning on ESPN.
It might also be factored that the Cowboys have a really good QB who has won 10+ games four times in his career and is coming off a 4,552-yard, 30-touchdown season. Had Dak Prescott gotten anything out of his defense, he’d be playing this weekend. With Philadelphia seemingly vulnerable into the future, the door could be open for Dallas to be a serious contender in 2026.
We know the Vikings will be in the mix so long as they have Flores but the QB plan has to matter when he has options. Does he think they have the answer in JJ McCarthy? Does he know the plan going forward? Putting together a defense that’s fourth in points per drive and fifth in yards per drive that misses the playoffs has to feel empty.
Kevin O’Connell made it clear that he wants him back when he was asked about the Flores situation last week. It seems very possible that negotiations are handled smoothly and he’s back in action. But one thing keeps coming back to mind: If he was perfectly happy with the situation in Minnesota, why didn’t he sign an extension last offseason?
Falcons restructure Kirk Cousins’ contract
Does anybody on the Vikings roster currently have the number eight? They might need to give it up soon.
ESPN reported on Tuesday that there is now a guarantee in the amount of $67.9 million for the 2027 season that vests March 13. Let’s take a wild, wild guess that Cousins is not going to get locked in for almost $70 more million in Atlanta and the move is obviously to help ease their cap pain and let Cousins go free.
There is no doubt that Cousins and O’Connell grew close in Minnesota. It would even be a safe bet to say that O’Connell would have been comfortable if Cousins had been his “bridge” quarterback had the ex-Viking not decided to go to Atlanta. In the most recent Quarterback documentary on Netflix, Cousins expressed regret that he left the Vikings.
Well, time is a flat circle, aye?
Bringing back Cousins would feel like a desperation play to hang around .500 and try to sneak into the playoffs to save jobs — where does that sound familiar? — but it’s fair to look at his numbers in Atlanta this year and wonder if the Vikings would have won 11 games with him this year. In Cousins’ final seven games, he won five times including a 373-yard, three-touchdown showing against the Bucs and finished with a 87.5 quarterback rating. His only bad game came against Seattle, possibly the NFL’s best defense.
The big question in bringing back Cousins is: Does that mean JJ McCarthy’s career as a Viking is over? Or would there be a competition between them that McCarthy could possibly win? It seems unlikely that Cousins, who played well enough to start for a lot of teams, would come back to the Vikings unless he is guaranteed the starting job. There has to be other places that would see him as a big improvement and would easily lock him in as QB1 after the way he played this season.
How realistic is it? Somewhere between “not impossible” and “maybe.” There was no bad blood when he left. The fans and locker room embraced Cousins more in the O’Connell years. He knows the offense inside and out. Yeah, it could happen.
Pete Carroll out as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders
It’s hard to figure out what the Raiders were thinking by bringing in Carroll to a situation that needed a total makeover. Now they have a chance to start fresh.
Part of that, per the team’s press release, sounds like it will involve a lot of Tom Brady.
One thing has been noticeable listening to Brady as he’s become more front-facing as a broadcaster: He has an old-school nature to him. Brian Flores carries a similar disposition, which was noted last year by Stephon Gilmore (who enjoyed that approach). Flores is a card-carrying member of the Patriot Way, having grown up as a scout in New England’s heyday and then worked his way into the coach’s room and ultimately into a head coaching job in Miami.
There will be questions about Flores as a head coach, particularly with the way things went with Tua Tagovailoa and public statements by Ryan Fitzpatrick about what he was like as a HC. But if any team is willing to break rank with the rest of the league, which has seemed to be avoiding Flores due to his pending lawsuit against the league, it would be Las Vegas.
The Baltimore Ravens fire John Harbaugh
Another team that could check in about Flores is the Baltimore Ravens after they fired John Harbaugh on Tuesday. Though it would stand to reason that they will be looking for a best friend for Lamar Jackson more than a defensive mastermind.
The latest from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport made it seem that Jackson and Harbaugh have not been on the same page. If anyone was going to win the power struggle, it would have to be the guy capable of throwing 41 touchdowns to 4 INTs and running for over 900 yards just last year.
If there was any small shred of hope that the Ravens would make Jackson available, it seemed to go down the drain when they moved on from Harbaugh. Maybe it’s still possible because this franchise left the door open for other teams to potentially offer him a contract two years ago but it seems unlikely. These types of QBs do not get moved.
Cincinnati keeps its leadership
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