Perhaps Minnesota will have its pick of the veteran quarterback litter this offseason. ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler reported as much this week.

“My sense right now, from asking around, is all the top quarterbacks that will be, or could be, available … this is the place they want to go,” Fowler said on “NFL Live.” “It is Minnesota.”

Perhaps that means the likes of Kyler Murray, Aaron Rodgers, Malik Willis or Jimmy Garoppolo find their way to Minnesota this offseason to compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting QB gig. That will feel like a cure all for a team sabotaged by its play under center last season.

But even those options aren’t guaranteed success. There’s a reason they’re available, after all. And even if they are indeed competent – which would be a big upgrade – they still wouldn’t elevate the offense to the team’s phase of strength.

It’s time for Kevin O’Connell to operate under that assumption.

Seattle won the Super Bowl with a good offense, dominant defense and excellent special teams. It leaned heavily on the latter two phases in its win over New England last Sunday.

That’s not to take anything away from quarterback Sam Darnold, who had to be – and was – nearly perfect in the NFC championship game to edge the high-octane Los Angeles Rams.

But such a performance wasn’t required against the Patriots, nor in either Seattle’s NFC divisional round or Week 18 wins over the San Francisco 49ers.

So, on those days, the Seahawks leaned on the run game. They were conservative with the pass, especially on third and long situations. They placed an emphasis on ball control and won “boring.”

The performances were reminiscent of what Minnesota delivered during its five-game winning streak to close an otherwise disappointing regular season. The offense stopped giving the ball away every other play, which allowed a stellar defensive unit to dictate the game’s terms.

Seahawks-like.

In his season-ending press conference, the since-fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah lamented the changes in the quarterback room last offseason that left Minnesota with a less dynamic passing game that clipped the wings of O’Connell’s typically prolific aerial attack.

But the truth is, Minnesota still had enough to win if its coach were willing to adapt his style. Regardless of how excited O’Connell is by whoever the Vikings bring in to compete with McCarthy in training camp, it’s important he reflects this offseason and maybe even reviews the Mike MacDonald School of Winning with a Great Defense.

There, they teach lessons such as the value of scoring three points, field position and placing a heavy emphasis on special teams. Punts are considered solid results. The formula for victory isn’t defined by the number of big passing plays, but rather by finding the highest-probability path to scoring more points than your opponent.

Watching Seattle run on third and longs against San Francisco and New England was a jarring juxtaposition to all of Minnesota’s overly-aggressive decisions that too frequently led to disaster in the fall, ranging from Carson Wentz launching an interception on second and 25 from deep in his own territory against Philadelphia to O’Connell forgoing the game-tying field goal and instead electing for a fourth-down try against the Seahawks with a rookie quarterback in Seattle.

You know how that one ended.

If the script were flipped, the Seahawks would’ve taken the points – as they did five times in last Sunday’s Super Bowl. Not that that’s the right play in all instances – there’s a time and place for aggression. But your circumstances should determine your decisions.

That’s true all season, and never more so than in the playoffs, where O’Connell is yet to win a game.

MacDonald understood the power of his dominant defense. It’s why the Seahawks attempted just 12 fourth-down tries all season across 20 total games, far and away the fewest in the league.

Yes, that’s an easier decision to reach when that defense is your brainchild, as is the case with Macdonald.

Can an offensive coach like O’Connell restrain himself enough to take a similar approach that best suits his team moving forward?

The Vikings will have a new general manager for the 2026 NFL season. They may even have a new starting quarterback. But if the head coach continues to try to ram square pegs into round holes, the end result won’t change.

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As Jackie Wiles made her way through her downhill run on Tuesday at the Olympics in northern Italy, her teammate, Paula Moltzan, tried to channel her own nerves into positive energy.

“I was freaking out the whole time. I was talking to her as if she could hear me,” Moltzan told NBC’s “Today” program. “I was like ‘C’mon Jackie, you’ve got this.’ I was shaking. I was sweating.”

By the time it was all said and done, Wiles had finished with the fourth-fastest time in the downhill, her portion of the women’s team combined event, setting Moltzan, a Prior Lake native, up to potentially bring home the first Olympic medal for both.

Just one problem. One of the best skiers of all time was standing in their way.

After Moltzan turned in the fourth-quickest time in the slalom, Mikaela Shiffrin was the only thing separating the pair from a medal. But after Shiffrin’s partner, Breezy Johnson, gave the duo an advantage with the fastest time in the downhill, Shiffrin couldn’t capitalize. She finished 15th in the event, putting her and Johnson in fourth by .06 seconds, and fulfilling a lifelong dream for Moltzan.

Now she’s out for more, with two more events remaining at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

The daughter of two ski instructors, Moltzan was placed on skis for the first time as a toddler. She grew up skiing at Buck Hill in Burnsville before eventually moving to Vail, Colo. with her father in the middle of high school to pursue her skiing career.

Her path hasn’t always been linear, at one point being cut by the U.S. Ski Team. But as Moltzan prepares for her next two events — she will ski on Sunday in the giant slalom and again on Wednesday in the slalom — she’s near her best. Heading into the Olympics, she is currently ranked fourth in the overall FIS Alpine Ski World Cup standings; teammate Shiffrin is first.

Milan-Cortina marks the second trip to the Olympics for Moltzan. Four years earlier in Beijing, she finished eighth in the slalom and 12th in the giant slalom. She just missed out on a medal as the United States finished fourth in the team event.

But this time around, she’ll already be skiing with a medal to her name.

“I feel like actually after getting a medal with Jackie (Tuesday), I feel like I can take a deep breath and really just like focus on my competition and think about how the skiing is going to go and let go of the fact that the medal pressure is not really there anymore,” she said on “Today.”

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If you want to get outdoors, note that this year, Presidents Day falls on Monday, Feb. 16, when all national parks will be free to enter. But things are a bit different than in past years.

This year, the freebie days are only for American legal residents. Foreigners will pay much higher fees.

These freebies can save you $50, but you should definitely plan in advance and get up to go at the crack of dawn, before it gets crowded with sleepyheads. C’mon, you can do it.

You don’t need to sign up in advance, but make sure you don’t need reservations (which you probably don’t in February). Go to recreation.gov and search for the park you want and “timed entry” to find the reservation information.

Here are the nine national parks in California: Channel Islands (the boat ride won’t be free), Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Lassen, Pinnacles, Redwood, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and Yosemite. (Note that Yosemite’s still going to be snowy in February, and probably Lassen and Kings Canyon too.)

The next free day will be Memorial Day, on May 25. Gee, that won’t be crowded, right?

Learn more: nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm#free_entrance_days

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My grandkids can’t seem to get enough of s’mores-themed goodies. The chefs at America’s Test Kitchen came up with these S’Mores Brownies in time for our Halloween baking.  A hefty graham-cracker crust at the bottom supports the brownie layer above. And to capture that campfire component, a top layer of miniature marshmallows toast in the oven under the broiler.

Two things. Be sure to use a metal baking pan and not a glass baking dish in this recipe. And two, when the marshmallow topped beauty goes under the broiler, keep a watchful eye on it.

S’Mores Brownies

Yield: 16 brownies

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

6 whole graham crackers, crushed into crumbs (3/4 cup)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

Brownies:

8 tablespoons ( one stick) unsalted butter

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup (3 1/3 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make foil sling for 8-inch square metal baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up the sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.

2. For the crust: Using your fingers, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar in bowl until evenly moistened. Sprinkle mixture into prepared pan and press firmly into even layer. Bake until firm and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. For the brownies: While crust is baking, microwave butter and chocolate in bowl at 50% power, stirring often, until melted and smooth, 1 to 3 minutes; let cool slightly.

4. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a second bowl. Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla together in large bowl. Whisk chocolate mixture into sugar mixture until combined. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just incorporated.

5. Transfer batter to pan with crust and smooth top. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 22 to 27 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Remove pan from oven and heat broiler.

6. Sprinkle brownies evenly with a single layer of marshmallows. Return brownies to oven and broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 3 minutes. (Watch oven constantly; marshmallows will melt slightly but should hold their shape.) Immediately remove pan from oven. Let brownies cook completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

7. Using foil overhang, remove brownies from pan. Slide foil out from under brownies. Spray knife with vegetable oil spray to prevent marshmallows from sticking. Cut into 16 squares. Serve.

Source: “Everything Chocolate” from America’s Test Kitchen

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at @CathyThomas Cooks.com.

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