INDIANAPOLIS — The lifeblood of the NFL Combine is conversation. So much information gets exchanged during the annual trip to Indianapolis, whether it be near the Starbucks inside the JW Marriott, on the 15-minue walk to the Indiana Convention Center, or at any of the various steakhouses around downtown.
The major talking point for the Vikings was the future of Kirk Cousins. Will he re-sign? Will he test the market? It feels like the NFL as a whole is waiting for that domino to fall before anything else happens.
It wasn’t the only thing the Vikings talked about, however, with many other topics being brought up throughout the process. Here are some leftover Vikings notes from the NFL Combine in Indianapolis:
Was it a surprise that Brian Flores did not get a look?
The fact that defensive coordinator Brian Flores will be back on the coaching staff is something head coach Kevin O’Connell doesn’t take lightly.
That said, O’Connell admitted he was surprised Flores did not get any interview requests last month with so many head coaching vacancies across the league.
“I thought maybe there would be some slips turned in,” O’Connell said. “Never came to fruition.”
Not that Flores was necessarily looking to leave.
“I know he loves being in Minnesota,” O’Connell said. “It was not something he was actively pursuing.”
Maybe the biggest thing O’Connell is looking forward to is that Flores will get to help make decisions regarding personnel on defense.
“Just continuing to have his imprint on the defense is critical,” O’Connell said. “I would be shocked if next year he’s not a significant target for a lot of teams.”
How did the Josh McCown deal come together?
The addition of new quarterbacks coach Josh McCown this week seemingly came out of nowhere. In reality, O’Connell has been keeping tabs on McCown, hoping he’d get a chance to work with him at some point.
“He’s really somebody that I’ve always thought really highly of,” O’Connell said. “There was a process that took place and conversations making sure it was the right fit.”
As a longtime NFL journeyman himself, McCown will bring a wealth of knowledge to the position group. He can speak authoritatively about his experience in the NFL as a way to connect with whoever is under center for the Vikings moving forward. That is invaluable.
“He’s phenomenal,” O’Connell said. “I see him having a wildly bright future in the league.”
As for former quarterback coach Chris O’Hara, he will remain with the Vikings as a pass game specialist.
“We wanted to make sure that his role could be clearly defined where he’s really assisting in the game plan side of things,” O’Connell said. “I really wanted to use this opportunity to really continue growing Chris in the phase that I think he’s going to be best at moving forward.”
McCown will lead the position group along with assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski. Asked about the tandem, O’Connell heaped praise on Udinski, noting that he might get a title change to give a more accurate portrayal of what he does on a weekly basis.
What went wrong with the previous head trainer?
The abrupt departure of former head trainer Uriah Myrie last month raised some questions. What exactly happened?
“There were some things that I felt fell below the line of the standards that we try to set,” O’Connell said. “Sometimes we have to make some decision that on the surface seem difficult because we want to provide people with a chance to improve and do some things to meet those standards. At the same time, that room, that area of our team, it is so vital to provide what we need to provide for our players. I felt like it was the right thing to do.”
More responsibility will fall on executive director of player health and performance Tyler Williams as a result of the decision to part ways with Myrie. Not surprisingly, O’Connell used it as chance to speak highly of Williams, noting that he fully understands everything the Vikings need in the trainer’s room.
“He was brought here for a purpose and a reason,” O’Connell said. “He’s got superpowers.”
Are more joint practices in the works?
Though nothing has been finalized, it sounds like the Vikings will travel for joint practices with the Cleveland Browns this summer.
It would mark the first time since O’Connell has taken over that the Vikings will travel for joint practices. They hosted the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals last summer.
As much as O’Connell enjoys putting on a show for local fans at TCO Performance Center in Eagan — he hinted that the Vikings might host some joint practices of their own — he sees value in traveling as a team to break up the monotony of training camp.
The most important thing about joint practices, according to O’Connell, is making sure both teams are on the same page. He said he feels extremely comfortable working with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, who was a member of the Vikings’ coaching staff in several roles from 2006 to 2019. .
“The dialogue we had about how we would put it together was really exciting,” O’Connell said. “I’m looking forward to that and hopefully it does become final and we get the green light.”
Will the increase in salary cap impact free agency?
A funny exchange happened this week when O’Connell talked about the increase in the salary cap. He joked that he started to celebrate when he learned the salary cap was going up by $30 million.
Unfortunately for O’Connell, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski quickly burst his bubble. They didn’t just raise the salary cap for the Vikings. They raised it for everybody.
“I go down running down hall, ‘It’s $255 million!’” O’Connell said with a laugh. “They’re like, ‘Yeah everybody’s got that.’ I’m like, ‘Dammit.’”
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