Daily Norseman
The Minnesota Vikings season has come to an end. It’s a season that ended on a five-game win streak that feels a little superficial. The results weren’t what the team wanted. Coming off a 14-3 season, a 5 win drop is always going to be disappointing. J.J. McCarthy missed more games and the QB position was a mess all year. The defense really came on strong in December, but it was too late. When the team wins, we do a player of the week and when they lose, we do a Nincompoop of the Week. Missing the playoffs is an L, so we’ll start here.
Also, it’s the Nincompoop of the Week. We’re talking about adults that get paid a lot to do a very public job. Only a Nincompoop would actually take offense.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Kwesi made several big moves this offseason, with the most impactful being at quarterback. Rumor has it that Kwesi’s team tried to re-sign both Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold. The prices were too high, the situation wasn’t right, or whatever reason we may never know the full truth. The fact is the team ended up with J.J. McCarthy coming off an injury, Carson Wentz, and undrafted Max Brosmer. Vikings fans were forced to watch Darnold lead Seattle to the #1 seed in the NFC. Daniel Jones never joined the Vikings, so it’s hard to fault Kwesi for that. He was leading a run first offense in Indianapolis well until his injury. Kwesi tried to revamp the OL with veterans Will Fries and Ryan Kelly, with limited results. The same could be said for the veteran pair of DL Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Those additions leave the Vikings over the cap heading into the offseason. The team spent a lot of money and the results didn’t match that investment. First round pick Donovan Jackson has shown some promise and looks to be a decent pick. (OG in the 1st round is expensive if it doesn’t hit.) Tai Felton wasn’t a good pick based on rookie season production and others picked around him. His 3 receptions for 25 yards were less than desirable considering Jordan Addison missed time early. I haven’t even mentioned the wasted pick sent for Adam Thielen. The 5 win drop is always going to call for a lot of criticism. With Kwesi, his job is also to look at the next 2-3 seasons as well. He appears to have failed the 2025 Vikings and set himself up in a precarious position for 2026 and beyond. For all of those reasons, and a few I am sure I forgot, Kwesi is a good candidate for Nincompoop of the Year.
Kevin O’Connell
KOC came into the season confident. It’s easy to see why considering the results he had squeezed out of the team his first 3 seasons (not considering the playoffs). O’Connell collectively with Kwesi allowed/decided to move on at the QB position to J.J. McCarthy. The comments outward to the media were...
