All Eyes Turn to 2 Main Vikings Offseason Questions
The 2025 season will go down as a failure in Minnesota Vikings history books, despite surpassing the .500 mark in the final week of the regular season. Expectations were too high entering the campaign to be satisfied with a 9-8 record and a couch ticket for the postseason. The offseason will be headlined by two major developments.
What to Do with the QB Room?
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy took over from Sam Darnold last offseason, but he couldn’t come close to the veteran’s numbers from a year ago, finishing his first season as a starter with only ten starts, 15 touchdowns (11 passing, four rushing), and 12 interceptions.
His injury struggles prevented him from ever getting into a flow. Of course, a player cannot be blamed for injuries, as those just happen in the NFL, but there have been moments where his play style exposed him to additional risk.
But even besides the availability concerns, McCarthy has struggled to play consistent football. Every game has some high-level plays that showcase his talent, but inconsistent decision-making and mechanical issues limited his efficiency and ability to sustain drives all year.
Decision-makers in a comparable situation often fight for their jobs in the year after missing the playoffs, so an increased focus on the QB room is advised. Leaguewide reports suggest that the plan is to continue with McCarthy, but add competition or at least a high-end backup.
In 2025, the backup situation was not good enough to pick up when McCarthy’s performance dipped or when he was out with an injury. Carson Wentz isn’t under contract and Max Brosmer has rarely shown NFL play to be confident in him as the QB2. Expect the Vikings to dive into the free agency pool in March.
Brian Flores or Someone Else?
The defensive side of the ball deserved to play meaningful football in January, as they have been lights out for weeks. Brian Flores has been in his bag this season, dialing up diabolical blitzes and coverages that confuse even decent quarterbacks like Jared Goff on Christmas.
Of course, that defensive performance has turned some heads, and Flores is expected to generate some head coaching interest. If he is offered one of the desirable 32 top coaching jobs, there’s nothing the Vikings can do to prevent him from leaving.
Unfortunately, he was only signed through the 2025 season, and he could also dip for another coordinator position — at least in theory. That would be unusual but can’t be ruled out.
If Flores is gone, the identity of the defense will leave the building with him. It’s unlikely that a new defensive coordinator would be as good as Flo at putting the pieces in the right position to get the most out of them. He elevated good football players like Andrew Van Ginkel or Joshua Metellus to star defenders.
His departure would be a significant blow for the Vikings. Conversely, continued employment would immediately raise the team’s floor for next season. There are some candidates available, but none are guaranteed to work out as well as the former Dolphins head coach has.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.