The Vikings Want to Contend in 2022, and You Just Have to Deal with It.
Imagine a civilization where a person’s football team of choice announces it wants to contend for a Super Bowl — one eluding a franchise for six decades — and the human’s reaction is “Damnit, again?”
That’s where a noteworthy sect of the Vikings community stands in March of 2022.
When Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell were hired to replace Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer, some onlookers of the Vikings took the moves — based on their personal wishlists — as a signal the franchise would tear out the existing roster and start over.
Except the Vikings ownership insisted since the terminations of Spielman and Zimmer the team would be competitive in 2022.
“Super competitive,” the words used by one of the men who own the Vikings — the enterprise belongs to him — were not lies. He wasn’t fibbing. The ownership evidently doesn’t believe in rebuilds. And it probably has something to do with the recent track records of Super Bowl winners. The roadmap to Lombardi heaven, as of late, doesn’t involve intentional futility. These are the previous records (three seasons’ worth) of Super Bowl winners since 2012:
- Rams: 13-3, 9-7, 10-6
- Bucs: 5-11, 5-11, 7-9
- Chiefs: 12-4, 10-6, 12-4
- Pats: 12-4, 12-4, 12-4
- Eagles: 7-9, 7-9, 10-6
- Broncos: 12-4, 13-3, 13-3
- Seahawks: 11-5, 7-9, 7-9
- Ravens: 8-8, 6-10, 6-9-1
And, of course, note the Patriots won a few championships in the middle sans tanks or rebuilds.
The Wilfs don’t want to take the path of the New York Jets, Detroit Lions, or Jacksonville Jaguars, teams that enact varying forms of rebuilds while habitually living in the basement. They fundamentally don’t believe in the strategy — despite what you, the fan, might believe based on, well, who knows?
The two most recent dynasties or budding dynasties — the Patriots and Chiefs — drafted a quarterback to sit on the bench for a year, pivoting away from expensive starters in Drew Bledsoe and Alex Smith. For Bledsoe, the Brady takeover wasn’t planned. With Smith and Mahomes, the plan indeed took shape.
The Vikings can do this, too. Extending Kirk Cousins by an extra year emphatically does not assure “mediocrity.” It gives Minnesota a pathway to relevance while evaluating Cousins with a new coach, flexibility to draft a Malik Willis type, develop Kellen Mond, or set sights on the 2023 NFL Draft for the quarterback of the future.
During the tell-all chapter of Cousins with Kevin O’Connell, the Wilfs — who, again, own the product — want to win football games. They do not care that you want to emulate the Jets, Lions, and Jaguars. The Wilfs want to emulate the Chiefs, Patriots, or Steelers — franchises that maintain consistent relevance with the hope of breaking through to February football.
Remaining on-board with starters like Cousins, Danielle Hunter, Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks, etc., doesn’t have to invoke “Ahhhh, hell, we’re going 8-9 again” feelings. Instead, the approach is designed to extract wins with the existing group, using a new foundational backbone of general management and head coaching.
And if the Vikings finish 8-9 again — confirming the rebuild crowd’s fear — the leadership can pivot to a new direction involving a change at quarterback, full rebuild, or re-tool of the roster with a quarterback via trade (like the Cleveland Browns did this offseason).
This brand of ownership seeks not to embark on a season of NFL daftness. It feels the new men in charge can win with the existing roster. And you just have to get used to it.
Setting expectations high for a long-awaited Super Bowl triumph should never get on your nerves.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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