O'Connell's power surge reshapes the Vikings' QB future. Explore McCarthy's development, veteran challengers, or a plug-and-play starter.
Matthew Coller’s latest Purple Insider episode is framed around a franchise power shift: the fallout from the Minnesota Vikings moving on from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and what that means for the next phase of the roster build.
The central thread is how much more influence Kevin O'Connell now holds. Coller argues that with the previous front office structure gone, the quarterback plan becomes a direct reflection of O’Connell’s priorities and, just as importantly, his job security. From there, the conversation lays out three realistic paths.
First is staying the course with J.J. McCarthy, leaning into development while being smarter about the contingency plan than last season. Second is building a “competitive room” by adding a legitimate veteran challenger — Coller floats Geno Smith as the type of option that raises the weekly floor without completely blocking the young QB. The third, more aggressive route is O’Connell pushing for a true plug-and-play starter to maximize immediate wins, with names like Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers coming up as shorthand for that urgency, while Kyler Murray is discussed more as a “price vs impact” thought exercise.
Coller also connects the dots to how this impacts draft and free agency philosophy, plus the intrigue around Rob Brzezinski as a potential GM solution — steady and qualified, but maybe lacking the clean-slate objectivity a reset often needs.
The episode closes with Coller defending Justin Jefferson for being candid about the offense feeling smoother with Sam Darnold, framing it less as drama and more as honest leadership in a moment of transition.