Matthew Coller: Extensions or not, Vikings need to see the plan through

Vikings owner Mark Wilf said they are not ready for extension talks with the HC and GM...

Kevin O'Connell / Matthew Coller

EAGAN — When Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf answered questions at TCO Performance Center on Tuesday afternoon, he said that ownership was not planning contract extension talks for head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah right now. Reportedly their contracts run through 2025.

“It's not something we're talking about at this point,” Wilf said.

He also reiterated that ownership’s expectation remains to win the division and compete for a championship amidst the shift from Kirk Cousins to Sam Darnold and/or rookie JJ McCarthy. When asked how the 2024 record would factor into future extension talks he added that it would not be a “litmus test” for the head coach and GM.

“I took some questions from this group about what I've learned since day one on this job, and I can tell you the one thing is you do not have time, energy or anything like that to worry about things that are outside of your control,” O’Connell said when asked about Wilf’s contract comments. “And I’ve got a full-time gig here where I got to focus on these players, these coaches and making sure we’re having ourselves the best training camp we’ve ever had here, which will hopefully lead into a successful season.”

There is a case for giving O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah extensions before the season starts because they have accomplished the first part of the plan that was hatched when they arrived. The head coach turned around the culture (as noted by the high NFLPA survey marks) and remained competitive in each of the first two seasons going 20-14 overall. Meanwhile the front office refreshed the roster, drafted a first-round quarterback, signed Day 1 free agents this offseason, extended two superstar players and set the Vikings up for salary cap freedom next season.

Following their quest to pick the future quarterback, the Vikings appear to be a stable franchise with a plan to follow a similar path that we have seen successful teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers deploy in the recent past. That’s a far cry from where the Vikings were when KOC/KAM took over, which was a team with an over-the-hill and expensive roster and toxic environment inside the building.

The case against an extension is simple: They haven’t won anything yet and we don’t have a crystal ball to see into the future. Zero playoff wins is the same number Mike Zimmer had in 2020 and 2021 before the Wilfs decided to move on. JJ McCarthy was was just about to turn 14 years old when the Minneapolis Miracle happened and this franchise has one postseason win — on the road and in the wild card game — since then.

Plus, the NFL changes insanely fast. Six months from now everything could look very different. In 2016 the Vikings were about to go into the year with Super Bowl aspirations around their young quarterback and then only a few days before the season they found themselves trading a first-round pick for Sam Bradford. Five weeks after that the offensive coordinator walked off the job. If this league was easy going and predictable, nobody would watch.

Why rush when KOC is not a lame-duck coach? His authority isn’t being undermined by the lack of security right now. Next year it would be.

Oh, by the way, job security in the NFL is tenuous no matter how long the contract. Mike Vrabel signed a 5-year deal in 2021 and was gone at the end of 2023, for example.

To channel Kirk Cousins, an extension for the Vikings’ brass wouldn’t so much be about a guarantee for the future, rather it would be about what an extension represents. Namely buy-in to the direction they are taking the team and a commitment to seeing it through.

Historically speaking it generally takes about three years to know for sure whether a quarterback can be a “franchise QB” or not. Allowing KOC’s development plan to take shape during that time frame makes more sense than turning every game into a referendum on whether he should remain in place.

Likewise the Vikings set up their salary cap and recent Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw extensions to allow for spending over the next two offseasons. Wouldn’t it be better to commit to seeing how the roster can transform around McCarthy rather than relitigating every move with the ups and downs of the coming season?

The Wilfs aren’t under any obligation to give out extensions and there is nothing wrong with waiting until the year before their contracts are reportedly up so long as they remain committed to the direction they chose from the outset rather than being reactionary.

The Vegas over-under is set at 7 or 7.5 wins, depending on where you look. If things do not go better than that, it should still be considered a necessary step to get where they are trying to go. For example, the Bills made the playoffs in 2017 and then won just six games behind a rocky Josh Allen season in 2018. By 2020 they were 13-3. It’s easy to forget that three of Kyle Shanahan’s first four years in San Francisco resulted in six wins or fewer.

We have also seen what happens when leadership feels the pressure of job security breathing down its neck. Trading draft capital for kicker/punters and backup tight ends. Desperately signing second or third-tier free agents hoping they are the final piece. Needing draft picks to swing the tide right away. Turning the heat up melts people in charge more than it motivates them.

Not that any of that appears to be happening. Everyone seems like they are on the same page with The McCarthy Plan at the moment. Wilf has said as much in every media availability. But as the pressure of the season ramps up, it’s on the people at the very top to be patient enough to give full opportunity to develop the quarterback on O’Connell’s timeline and fill out the roster in Adofo-Mensah’s vision.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

— Justin Jefferson missed practice due to a personal issue. Christian Darrisaw spent practice in the training room, per the team. He missed some reps during Saturday’s practice as well. David Quessenberry filled in at left tackle.

— Sam Darnold had another strong day, highlighted by a bomb completed to Jordan Addison.

— Will Reichard hit two more deep field goals in two chances. He has only missed two during camp and both were over 50 yards.

— O’Connell indicated he would have more information on the preseason plan at QB when he talks on Thursday.