Vikings’ Rival Head Coach Takes Stance on J.J. McCarthy
The Minnesota Vikings roll into Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, in Week 9 with a 3-4 record, attempting to start the J.J. McCarthy era for good for a second time this season against their division rival, the Detroit Lions. It will be McCarthy’s third game this season, and the third game of his career for that matter.
The young signal caller is returning to the starting lineup in some trying times for the Vikings organization as a whole. Fans are becoming more and more restless with the entire operation as the vibes surrounding the team have completely dropped, and more and more questions are being asked about the competence of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as the general manager of it all.
Even reigning 2024 NFL AP Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell is getting some heat from the fan base, particularly with the poor optics he’s garnered by allowing Carson Wentz to play through some pretty major injuries the last couple of weeks.
Vikings Fans’ Confidence in J.J. McCarthy Plan is Wavering
Confidence in McCarthy isn’t much higher amongst Vikings loyalists than it is for Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell. Fans are growing restless as they watch young quarterbacks of the future like Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels leading a recently irrelevant franchise to a Conference Championship appearance, or the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye being in legitimate league MVP conversations halfway through 2025.
It’s understandable to be annoyed that McCarthy’s 2024 NFL Draft classmates are hitting it big, even with Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. showing that they’ve got some stuff, and Caleb Williams showing flashes of what he was advertised to do coming out of USC, though, they are moments separated by some head-scratching decision-making.
Lions’ HC Dan Campbell Takes Stance on J.J. McCarthy
Funnily enough, one of the men who has voiced belief in McCarthy is Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Of course, he isn’t going to just talk poorly of the kid in the sight of the public eye, but he didn’t need to say what he said about the young signal caller.
You watch Chicago and what he did, had it a little bit rough there early…then all of a sudden, he comes rushing back. You just see the poise and the confidence and his ability to overcome that and really lead them to a win. That’s impressive for a young guy. So, that kind of tells me all I need to know.
I know what the talent is, I’ve seen it. They’re going to do what they need to do to help him out and try to reduce the stress. Try to take as much off his plate, yet allow him to do things he does well. They’re going to find ways. They’re going to try to establish the run, screen game, get it to [Justin Jefferson], get this kid on the move. They’re going to do a hell of a job. They’ll have a good plan ready, and so will we.
J.J. McCarthy Will Look To Continue Building Upon Week 1 Performance
He can’t win NFC Offensive Player of the Week every single game that he finishes healthily, but McCarthy is going to look to build upon that cardiac performance from Week 1 at Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears. It is imperative that he does so, as the Vikings’ schedule has begun to get very difficult and will continue to be that way for the rest of the year.
