An Honorable Minnesota Vikings Night

The NFL held their annual awards pageant last night in New Orleans. Appropriately named NFL Honors, the Minnesota Vikings had an honorable night. Two players and two coaches were up for awards.

Comeback Player of the Year: Sam Darnold

Walter Payton Man of the Year: C.J. Ham

Assistant Coach of the Year: Brian Flores

Coach of the Year: Kevin O’Connell

From the start, it was a stretch for Sam Darnold to be up for Comeback Player of the Year. The award is intended to recognize a player that’s overcome some sort of setback. That setback is supposed to be a significant injury or an unfortunate tragedy. Darnold’s setback was a disappointing start to his career after being selected with the third pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He had a fantastic season in quarterbacking the Vikings to a 14-3 record. If there was an award for Most Improved Player of the Year, that award was his. Comeback Player of the Year was not his. It deservedly went to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Congratulations. 

Darnold came in third. 

As for the Walter Payton Man of the Year, any of the 32 players nominated is worthy of winning it. That’s true every year. They, and many other players across the league, are doing fantastic things in their communities. All deserve recognition for all the great things that they do. The deciders could simply pull a name from a hat and do the award justice. This year, C.J. Ham’s name wasn’t pulled. Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead’s name was. Congratulations. 

For some reason, The Assistant Coach of the Year was announced before NFL Honors got started. Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson won the voting. He did a great job and it got him a head coach opportunity with the Chicago Bears. Congratulations. Brian Flores did a great job with the Vikings defense. He was runner-up in the voting. He didn’t get the head coach opportunity that he greatly deserves. Fortunately for the Vikings, he returns for a third season in Minnesota. 

As for Coach of the Year honors, that went to Kevin O’Connell. Perhaps I’m more than a bit biased, this is very much deserved. O’Connell is a fantastic head coach and he did a fantastic job coaching the Vikings this season. Preseason expectations had his team winning about six games. The Vikings more than doubled those win expectations. None of the talking heads and slappy pundits had them finishing 14-3 and taking the NFC title chase to a Week 18 battle with the Detroit Lions. No one. O’Connell has become a coaching fixture in Minnesota and he has a new contract and a shiny trophy to prove it. Congratulations Coach!

The league even brought the spectacular celebrations of Cam Bynum and Josh Metellus to the NFL Honors stage. Perhaps the highlight of the program’s entertainment portion was the re-enactment of their White Chicks celebration. With the help of Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobe Turner and a couple other players, they even took a swing at a Dirty Dancing routine. Not since Kirk Cousins sang a duet with Kelly Clarkson have Vikings players been such a fun highlight of NFL Honors. 

The greatest Vikings moment of the evening came with the announcement of Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025. After waiting four years too long, Jared Allen is finally getting his much deserved bust and spiffy gold jacket. He’s going to be honored in Canton next summer for his fantastic playing career. 

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025:

Jared Allen

Eric Allen

Antonio Gates

Sterling Sharpe

The Hall of Fame used a revised voting process this year. It resulted in the smallest Hall Class in about two decades. The changes were intended to make it a little more difficult to get into Canton. What it really did was build the logjam of deserving players. There’s a growing receiver problem among the Modern Era candidates. There are a load of players stuck in the Senior pool that deserve a bust. A few should’ve made it decades ago. Unfortunately, too many voters have shut the door on players that played before their time covering the game. Voters that refuse to acknowledge football’s past shouldn’t be tasked with honoring it. Anyway, these arguments are for another day. Last night was all about Jared Allen finally getting the Hall of Fame recognition that he deserves. Congratulations Jared Allen. I hope to see you in Canton in August. 

Minnesota Vikings Lose A Coach

With only one remaining head coach vacancy and nearly all of the coordinator positions filled, it was beginning to look like the Minnesota Vikings were going to keep all of their coaches. Those hopes were dashed yesterday when the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Vikings assistant coach Grant Udinski to be new head coach Liam Coen’s offensive coordinator. 

In three years, Grant Udinski had emerged as one of the Vikings most interesting and most important assistant coaches. Prior to joining the Vikings, he was an assistant coach for the Carolina Panthers (2020-21) under Matt Ruhle. As the Vikings new head coach in 2022, Kevin O’Connell hired Undinski as an assistant to the head coach/special projects. Udinski started his time in Minnesota as a bit of mystery as his picture on the team’s website throughout his first season was a silhouette. Who was this coach? Was he some sort of secret weapon? It took no time for him to make a quick progression up the Vikings coaching ladder. In 2023, he was the assistant quarterbacks coach. In 2024, assistant offensive coordinator was added to his title and his responsibilities. I can’t recall ever seeing a coach with the title of assistant offensive coordinator. O’Connell was forced to create titles and add responsibilities. Undinski’s growing importance and competence forced a promotion to something. 

Udinski may have started his time in Minnesota as a secret weapon. After three seasons, his coaching was no longer a secret. He’s been a popular offensive coordinator candidate this offseason. Over the past few weeks, he interviewed with the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars. I actually thought that all those positions had been recently filled and was breathing sighs of relief. I only had to worry about the head coach-less New Orleans Saints. I was clearly mistaken about the Jaguars and Liam Coen having their offensive coordinator. That job now belongs to Grant Udinski. It’s a great thing for Udinski. It isn’t so great for the Vikings but it was inevitable. This is a coach that will be a head coach soon. He’s only 29. He’s going to be a very young head coach. 

The Vikings are going to miss Grant Udinski. Kevin O’Connell is going to miss him. Wes Phillips, Josh McCown, all of the assistant coaches are going to miss him. Unfortunately, quarterback J.J. McCarthy is probably going to miss him the most. Udinski was the coach designated to take late-night questions from the rookie quarterback. I doubt that Udinski had to be designated. He lives and breathes football. He probably welcomed all questions at all hours. The end of this coach-player relationship is probably the aspect of Udinski departing that worries me most. 

It’s incredibly selfish to not want Vikings coaches to advance their careers elsewhere. I can’t help it. I’m selfish about coaches that I want to stay in Minnesota. In the 1990s, I didn’t want Tony Dungy to leave. In the 2000s, I didn’t want Mike Tomlin to leave. I don’t want Brian Flores to leave. I didn’t want Grant Udinski to leave. These coaches deserve the opportunities to reach their career goals. Despite being selfish about them, I am happy for them. I’m happy for Udinski. I just wish that the Vikings and J.J. McCathy had another year with him. 

Ranking The 58 Super Bowls

In a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs have emerged as the participants in Super Bowl LIX. The first was a pretty good game. Hopefully, this rematch is a pretty good game. The following is a ranking of the fifty seven Super Bowls. Hopefully, Super LVIII finds a high spot in next year’s ranking. 

58. Super Bowl IV-Kansas City Chiefs 23, Minnesota Vikings 7

57. Super Bowl VIII-Miami Dolphins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7

56. Super Bowl IX-Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Minnesota Vikings 6

55. Super Bowl XI-Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14

54. Super Bowl XXIV-San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10

53. Super Bowl XLVIII-Seattle Seahawks 43, Denver Broncos 8

52. Super Bowl XX-Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10

51. Super Bowl XXXV-Baltimore Ravens 34, New York Giants 7

50. Super Bowl XXIX-San Francisco 49ers 49, San Diego Chargers 26

49. Super Bowl XXXVII-Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21

48. Super Bowl XXII-Washington Redskins 42, Denver Broncos 10

47. Super Bowl XXVII-Dallas Cowboys 52, Buffalo Bills 17

46. Super Bowl XII-Dallas Cowboys 27, Denver Broncos 10

45. Super Bowl XXXIII Denver Broncos 34, Atlanta Falcons 19

44. Super Bowl XVIII Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington Redskins 9

43. Super Bowl XXVI-Washington Redskins 37, Buffalo Bills 24

42. Super Bowl XV-Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10

41. Super Bowl I-Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10

40. Super Bowl VI-Dallas Cowboys 24, Miami Dolphins 3

39. Super Bowl XL-Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Seattle Seahawks 10

38. Super Bowl XLI-Indianapolis Colts 29, Chicago Bears 17

37. Super Bowl II-Green Bay Packers 33, Oakland Raiders 14

36. Super Bowl XIX-San Francisco 49ers, 38, Miami Dolphins 16

35. Super Bowl V-Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas Cowboys 13

34. Super Bowl VII-Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7

33. Super Bowl XXVIII-Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13

32. Super Bowl XXI-New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20

31. Super Bowl LV-Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Kansas City Chiefs 9
30. Super Bowl XXXI-Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21

29. Super Bowl XXX-Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
28. Super Bowl L-Denver Broncos 24, Carolina Panthers 10
27. Super Bowl XVII-Washington Redskins 27, Miami Dolphins 17

26. Super Bowl XLIV-New Orleans Saints 31, Indianapolis Colts 17
25. Super Bowl LIII-New England Patriots 13, Los Angeles Rams 3
24. Super Bowl XXXIX-New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21

23. Super Bowl XLV-Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25

22. Super Bowl XLVI-New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17

21. Super Bowl XXXII-Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24

20. Super Bowl III-New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7

19. Super Bowl XLVII-Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31
18. Super Bowl XXXIV-St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16

17. Super Bowl XXXVI-New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17

16. Super Bowl XIV-Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Los Angeles Rams 19

15. Super Bowl LIV-Kansas City Chiefs 31, San Francisco 49ers 20

14. Super Bowl XVI-San Francisco 49ers 26, Cincinnati Bengals 21

13. Super Bowl LVI-Los Angeles Rams 23, Cincinnati Bengals 20

12. Super Bowl LII-Philadelphia Eagles 41, New England Patriots 33

11. Super Bowl LVII-Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35
10. Super Bowl X-Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17

  9. Super Bowl XXIII-San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16

  8. Super Bowl LVIII-Kansas City Chiefs 25, San Francisco 49ers 22

  7. Super Bowl XXV-New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19

  6. Super Bowl XXXVIII-New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29

  5. Super Bowl XLII-New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14

  4. Super Bowl LI-New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28
  3. Super Bowl XLIX-New England Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24
  2. Super Bowl XLIII-Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23

  1. Super Bowl XIII-Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31

All - Time Super Bowl Team

Just thinking about the Super Bowl and some of the great players that played in the big game.

Offense

Quarterback

Tom Brady, New England Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Running Back

Franco Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers

Fullback

Larry Csonka, Miami Dolphins

Receivers

Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers

Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh Steelers

Tight End

Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Tackles

Art Shell, Oakland Raiders

Erik Williams, Dallas Cowboys

Guards

Russ Grimm, Washington Redskins

Larry Little, Miami Dolphins

Center

Mike Webster, Pittsburgh Steelers

Defense

Ends

Charles Haley, San Francisco 49ers/Dallas Cowboys

L.C. Greenwood, Pittsburgh Steelers

Tackles

Alan Page, Minnesota Vikings

Randy White, Dallas Cowboys

Linebackers

Chuck Howley, Dallas Cowboys

Jack Lambert, Pittsburgh Steelers

Jack Ham, Pittsburgh Steelers

Cornerbacks

Mel Blount, Pittsburgh Steelers

Ronnie Lott, San Francisco 49ers

Safeties

Jake Scott, Miami Dolphins

Ronnie Lott, San Francisco 49ers

NFL Head Coach And General Manager Tracker

It’s Super Bowl Week. While the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are getting ready for Super Bowl LIX, the other 30 NFL teams are firmly in the offseason. Seven teams started that offseason looking for a new head coach. Four teams were looking for a new general manager. The New Orleans Saints are the lone team still looking for their next head coach. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the lone team still looking for their next general manager. Here’s a summary of this year’s version of the NFL’s annual head coach and general manager churn. 

Chicago Bears

Fired Head Coach Matt Eberflus midseason

Head Coach:

Hired Ben Johnson, Lions OC

After interviewing about 20 candidates, the Bears went with coach they had probably targeted all along. 

Dallas Cowboys

Head Coach Mike McCarthy’s contract was not renewed

Head Coach:

Hired Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys OC

Jacksonville Jaguars

Fired Head Coach Doug Pederson after the season. General Manager Trent Baalke was finally fired yesterday. 

Head Coach:

Hired Liam Coen, Buccaneers OC

General Manager

The Jaguars are just getting started. With no other team looking for a GM, they can be patient. A good-natured possum would be an improvement over Trent Baalke. 

Las Vegas Raiders

Fired Head Coach Antonio Pierce and General Manager Tom Telesco

Head Coach

Hired Pete Carroll, former Seahawks HC

General Manager:

Hired John Spytek, Buccaneers Assistant GM

New England Patriots 

Fired Head Coach Jerod Mayo

Head Coach:

Hired Mike Vrabel, former Titans HC

The Patriots fired one of their own so they could hire one of their own. 

New Orleans Saints

Fired Head Coach Dennis Allen midseason

Head Coach Interview Requests:

Joe Brady, Bills OC

Aaron Glenn, Lions DC

Mike Kafka, Giants OC

Kliff Kingsbury, Commanders OC

Mike McCarthy, former Packers and Cowboys HC

Kellen Moore, Eagles OC

Darren Rizzi, Saints Interim HC

David Shaw, former Stanford HC

Anthony Weaver, Dolphins DC

The one remaining head coach opening looks like it’s heading to Kellen Moore. 

New York Jets

Fired Head Coach Robert Saleh and General Manager Joe Douglas midseason 

Head Coach

Hired Aaron Glenn, Lions DC

Like the Bears, the Jets interviewed nearly 20 coaches and hired the one they probably targeted all along. Seeing as Glenn was drafted by the Jets in the first round of the 1994 NFL Draft, this feels right. 

General Manager

Hired Darren Mougey, Broncos Assistant GM

Tennessee Titans

Fired General Manager Ran Carthon

General Manager:

Hired Mike Borgonzi, Chiefs Assistant GM 

Minnesota Vikings Offensive Line Options

In what’s expected to be an active offseason, the Minnesota Vikings will prioritize improving the offensive line. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell pretty much said as much the last few times they’ve spoken to the media. Anyone that’s watched Vikings play over the past decade would say the same. In particular, the interior of the offensive line must be improved. The team is just fine at the tackle spots. Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill are one of the best tackle pairings in the league. The interior has been mediocre at its best and horrible at its worst. No more! The interior of the Vikings offensive line must be improved. This is the offseason to finally do it. 

With significant salary cap space and limited draft resources, the needed improvements are expected to come in free agency. The Vikings will have options. Here’s a look at some that have dominated my early offseason thoughts. 

The only option I haven’t considered, and won’t consider, is doing nothing at all to improve the interior of the offensive line. 

Minnesota Vikings Offensive Line Options

1. One Big Swing:

Sign Trey Smith. 

With about $60 million in salary cap space, and the ability to create much more, the Vikings will be able to bid with anybody for the signature of the clear #1 guard, and one of the best players, that could be available. Trey Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs. In the range of $20-25 million, his next contract will likely make him the highest-paid guard in the league. Just like the signing of Steve Hutchinson nearly 20 years ago, the signing of Smith would transform the offensive line, the offense, and the team. 

The Vikings new offensive line:

LT  Christian Darrisaw

LG Blake Brandel

 C  Garrett Bradbury

RG Trey Smith

RT Brian O’Neill 

There’s been some recent mentions that the Vikings see Walter Rouse as an option at guard. Drafted as a tackle in the sixth round last year, Rouse is an intriguing player. Who knows, in this option, maybe a training camp battle between Brandel and Rouse for the left guard job. The only known here is that adding Smith would do wonders for the Vikings offensive line. 

2. A Big swing and a modest swing:

Sign Trey Smith and Robert Jones

I’m not sure if Miami Dolphins guard Robert Jones is an improvement over Blake Brandel. When he had Christian Darrisaw next to him, Brandel was playing well. After Darrisaw was lost for the season, Brandel’s play started to be a little inconsistent. Maybe signing a guard like Teven Jenkins of the Chicago Bears or Will Fries of the Indianapolis Colts would be a better route. Signing Smith and Jenkins/Fries might be outside the realm of the Vikings salary cap space. Improving the offensive line might be the team’s biggest need but it’s not their only need. 

The Vikings new offensive line:

LT  Christian Darrisaw

LG Robert Jones

 C  Garrett Bradbury

RG Trey Smith

RT Brian O’Neill 

3. A big swing and a draft pick:

Sign Trey Smith and use one of their few draft picks on a guard

If the Vikings can find a small school sleeper with one of their fifth-round picks (Jacksonville State’s Clay Webb), I like this option a lot. I doubt that Webb makes out of Day 2. Maybe the Vikings can trade their first-round pick for a couple Day 2 picks. If the Vikings can manufacture the draft resources to add a promising guard and still address their other needs, I’d love this option. I’m just favoring free agency as the best way to improve the offensive line. 

The Vikings new offensive line:

LT  Christian Darrisaw

LG Clay Webb

 C  Garrett Bradbury

RG Trey Smith

RT Brian O’Neill 

4. Two modest swings.

Sign Teven Jenkins and Will Fries

If the Vikings lose the bidding for Trey Smith, this will be the best option. 

I’ve thought about this option a lot. I believe the Bears will be very interested in Smith. Maybe they should just re-sign Teven Jenkins and stay out of the Smith bidding. The Bears have more salary cap space than the Vikings. Will the Vikings pay any price for Smith? I suppose we’ll see. Jenkins and Fries won’t be cheap either but each will probably be $6-7 million less than Smith. With that modest discount, maybe the Vikings could afford both.

The Vikings new offensive line:

LT  Christian Darrisaw

LG Teven Jenkins

 C  Garrett Bradbury

RG Will Fries

RT Brian O’Neill 

None of the above options include replacing center Garrett Bradbury. Many followers of the Vikings want him gone. I get that. His lack of size and strength against the league’s growing number of impactful defensive tackles has been a problem. His quickness and smarts are his assets. So is his experience in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. Those attributes will be helpful as the Vikings enter the J.J. McCarthy era. Bradbury was selected in the first round for clear reasons. He’s a skilled center. Unfortunately, he’s a small center. I’ve often wondered if we’d see the best of him if he was playing between better guards. He’s been with the Vikings for six years. The list of guards that have played next to him is frightening. I’d like to see what he can do with better talent finally around him. 

Which option? My preference is any option that includes the signing of Trey Smith. I’ve become so smitten with that possibility that anything else would be seriously disappointing. If the Vikings could manage their limited draft resources to add Clay Webb (or more ambitiously North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel) and still address their other draft needs, #3 would be my favorite. Otherwise, I’m a firm believer in #1. 

Flea Flicker Top 5 Draft Prospects By Position

With the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason and a week of Senior Bowl practices the draft has been on my mind. Here’s an early look at some of the top prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. This will change a lot in the coming weeks. 

Quarterbacks

1. Cam Ward, Miami

2. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

3. Kyle McCord, Syracuse

4. Jaxson Dart, Mississippi 

5. Will Howard, Ohio State

Running Backs

1. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

2. Omarion Hampton, North Carolina

3. Kaleb Johnson, Iowa

4. Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State

5. TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State

Wide Receivers

1. Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona

2. Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State

3. Luther Burden III, Missouri

4. Matthew Golden, Texas

5. Xavier Restepo, Miami

I have Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter at corner. As a receiver, he’d easily be in the Top 5. Perhaps at WR1.

Tight Ends

1. Tyler Warren, Penn State

2. Colston Loveland, Michigan

3. Elijah Arroyo, Miami

4. Mason Taylor, LSU

5. Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green

Offensive Tackles

1. Will Campbell, LSU

2. Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas

3. Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon

4. Josh Simmons, Ohio State

5. Marcus Mbow, Purdue

Interior Offensive Line

1. Tyler Booker, Alabama

2. Armand Membou, Missouri

3. Grey Zabel, North Dakota State

4. Donovan Jackson, Ohio State

5. Tate Ratledge, Georgia

Edge

1. Abdul Carter, Penn State

2. Jalon Walker, Georgia

3. Mykel Williams, Georgia

4. James Pearce Jr., Tennessee

5. Mike Green, Marshall

Defensive Tackles

1. Mason Graham, Michigan

2. Kenneth Grant, Michigan

3. Walter Nolen, Mississippi

4. Derrick Harmon, Oregon

5. Joshua Farmer, Florida State

Linebackers

1. Jihaad Campbell, Alabama

2. Carson Schwesinger, UCLA

3. Barrett Carter, Clemson

4. Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon

5. Lander Barton, Utah

Cornerbacks

1. Travis Hunter, Colorado

2. Will Johnson, Michigan

3. Jahdae Barron, Texas

4. Shavon Revel Jr., East Carolina

5. Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame

Safeties

1. Malaki Starks, Georgia

2. Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina

3. Xavier Watts, Notre Dame

4. Andrew Mukuba, Texas

5. Malachi Moore, Alabama