The Minnesota Vikings are hoping that their Hail Mary move that saw them land veteran QB Kirk Cousins for a 2027 third-round pick leads them to the playoffs. After Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz were unable to get the offense trending toward consistent form, the Vikings decided to look for a new QB.
As a result, before the 4 pm ET trade deadline on Nov. 10, Minnesota decided to make a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for the veteran. Many are hoping that Cousins can hit the ground running and pick up where he left off in his first stint.
Nonetheless, there’s also the possibility that this Cousins move fails, leaving the Vikings at a crossroads with head coach Kevin O’Connell. If Minnesota misses the playoffs or exits in a disappointing fashion, former NFL player Domonique Foxworth believes the Vikings should fire O’Connell and hire defensive coordinator Brian Flores as their head coach.
“The Vikings should fire KOC and promote Brian Flores,” Foxworth said on the Nov. 12 edition of “This Is Football.” “… You look at his quarterback whisperer track record. It’s Sam Darnold, and J.J. McCarthy is having some success elsewhere, which doesn’t look good.
“You knew what Kyler Murray was and you had him here, but you’re not getting the most out of him. We were putting him up there with these other people because of those successes, and the last few years have been pretty rough. This team has only been competitive because of what it’s doing on defense.”
Why Vikings Can’t Afford to Lose Brian Flores
Moreover, Foxworth made the case for why Flores would be the right choice to replace O’Connell if the Vikings got to the point where they might feel it’s time for a change.
“I don’t think Kevin O’Connell is a bad coach, and I’m not saying he’s the guy in Minnesota or that he’s not the guy in Minnesota,” Foxworth added. “I’m saying it’s pretty clear that even among good defenses, the reason this defense is good is important. All defenses regress. We see it. Super-talented defenses like the Texans this year regress.
“They all regress except for this one. It also feels like there’s not a player on that defense that you can’t lose. Even when you think about all the great defenses, including the ones that have avoided major regression, which I can’t really name any, there’s usually somebody whose absence would make the team collapse.”
KOC Gets Prediction on His Future in Minnesota
Foxworth isn’t the only person talking about O’Connell potentially getting fired if the Cousins move doesn’t work out. FOX Sports’ Jason McIntyre issued a prediction on O’Connell’s future in Minnesota.
“I like the trade for both sides,” McIntyre said in a Nov. 11 video from FOX Sports Radio. “If I’m Minnesota and Kevin O’Connell, I do wonder if I’m going to catch heat because [the Vikings] got this potentially generational defense. We don’t want to waste it.
“Brian Flores could move on after this year. Then [O’Connell could] lose [his] defensive guru. [The Vikings] still don’t have a quarterback. Shucks. [O’Connell] better get [the Vikings] to the playoffs because this could fall apart fast. I would give it at least a 20-25 percent chance that Kevin O’Connell is fired at the end of the season.”
Vikings Land Strong Take Involving Kevin O’Connell, Brian Flores