2022 Minnesota Vikings Preview

Scott Cole Show

The Vikings made it clear in no uncertain terms and actions that Mike Zimmer and his old-school defensive coaching style were the problem the past two years and that Kevin O'Connell, a 37-year-old first-time head coach, brings from the Super Bowl-champion Rams a new-school offensive approach that finally will make Kirk Cousins more than just a vastly overpriced .500 quarterback. "I certainly believe even moreso now that we've got our leadership in place," co-owner Mark Wilf says. "We're going to work with Kirk as our quarterback … and for 2022, for sure, we're going to be super competitive." The Vikings tinkered with the idea of trading Cousins and doing a total teardown. But O'Connell's offensive acumen and history with Cousins in Washington convinced ownership and new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to extend Cousins' contract, lowering his salary cap hit from $45 million to $31 million, as the first of many moves designed to run it back with much of the same roster. Perhaps Adofo-Mensah, the NFL's first general manager from a purely analytics background, coined a new term when he described the process as a "competitive rebuild." Sans Zimmer, of course.