The Minnesota Vikings are in a position to take their sweet time searching for the right head coach because the right head coach will be waiting by the phone. It’s a luxury that comes with being the best job on the market.
And it’s by a long shot.
Look at the situation with the Houston Texans, where they basically hired David Culley for laughs and giggles, knowing he was never going to get a fair crack at the job. He was tossed headfirst into the fire of one of the most dysfunctional sports franchises in existence and then spit back out when he couldn’t devise a miracle in his first year on the job.
That isn’t even close to being the situation in Minnesota.
The fact that Rick Spielman kept his general manager job with the Vikings for a decade, and Zimmer remained as head coach for eight years is proof that owners Zygi and Mark Wilf value stability. This isn’t an organization that tears things down every couple years out of a desperate need for instant gratification.
It’s also an organization that’s built to win right now. Dalvin Cook is one of the best running backs in the game, period, and All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson came within 17 yards of breaking Randy Moss’ single-season franchise record for receiving yards this season. Add Adam Thielen and even an underrated, breakout receiver like K.J. Osborn to the equation and you have arguably the best skilled positions group in the league.
The defense clearly needs work, but there’s enough talent to turn things around, while also committing to getting younger and rebuilding through the draft. If you thought the new Scream movie was scary, just wait until you see opposing quarterbacks run for their lives against a healthy Vikings defensive front.
And yes, quarterback Kirk Cousins gets a lot of unfair criticism, but in a league where finding a good quarterback is about as easy as finding a pin in an ocean, candidates would jump at the opportunity to coach the player that just threw for 4,221 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
With the right tinkering, the Vikings could be a Super Bowl contender as early as next season. You can’t say that about any other head coaching vacancy in the league.
Minnesota has the best job available, and it isn’t even close.
