The Wilfs
The Minnesota Vikings had a window of a few weeks (arguably months) to decide on a fundamental roster rebuild after the terminations of Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman.
The franchise is rare in this sense: when it encounters terribly poor seasons (2010, 2011, 2013) — they’re not planned. The Vikings, as a franchise, never really tear out the roster and rebuild from the ground up.
Stability is preached by this brand of Vikings ownership, which came to power in 2005. Find a season since 2005 when the team expressed, “We’re starting over.” The 2011 campaign can be debated a smidgen, but even then, the Vikings signed Donovan McNabb to “make a run at it” with Christian Ponder clumsily waiting in the wings. Subtracting 2011 from memory, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a campaign designed for intentional rebuilding futility.
Alas, towing the company line, the Vikings, again, have opted not to rebuild in 2022, sticking with quarterback Kirk Cousins and the team’s core group of players — this time surrounded by an entirely new coaching staff [kept Keenan McCardell] and front office.
On Tuesday, Mark Wilf, one of the team’s owners, reiterated the Vikings all-in commitment for 2022:
“Our goals are the same as every year and I’m more excited than ever that we can compete at the highest level.”
– Mark Wilf | Minnesota Vikings
Just because you, the fan — or one of your Vikings fan friends — believed the team would rebuild does not mean that was ever a consideration. Some franchises — the Patriots, Steelers, Chiefs, Saints, and these Vikings — do not buy into the efficacy of ripping out a roster and starting fresh. Instead, those franchises preach quarterback consistency, steadiness in the draft, and an annual emphasis on winning — rather scurrying at the thought of finishing a season with a 7-9 record once in a while.
In 2014, 2015, and 2016, the Drew Brees-led Saints, coached by Sean Payton, finished 7-9. Every season.
Did the Saints panic, run for the hills, and rebuild? Absolutely not. And if it wasn’t for the Vikings in 2017 and 2019, New Orleans could’ve busted through to the Super Bowl again. Conversely, the Saints rebuilt their defense around Brees as the focal point of the organization.
The Wilfs philosophically don’t view rebuilds as you might. They oppose them. Perhaps they’ll change course after the Cousins experiment — whether that lasts one more year or five more years — but for now, the Vikings are not the type of team to nuke the depth chart.
From the moment Zimmer and Spielman were fired — as in, the very day, January 10th — the Wilfs have affirmed their desire to win football games, reach the playoffs, and win a Super Bowl. The Wilfs point-blank say it to reporters’ faces. They will not cave to a Jets, Jaguars, or Lions way of thinking about roster overhauls.
The goal is to set Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell up for success. Per the estimation of the team’s ownership — you know, the family who controls the product like you do your personal possessions — the best way to do that is improving the roster — not blowing it up.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. 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).