Minnesota Vikings: 3 HC/QB combos of the future that could fix team
By John Buhler
The Minnesota Vikings could move on from Kirk Cousins and Mike Zimmer at some point here.
Kirk Cousins and Mike Zimmer cannot be the long-term answers for the Minnesota Vikings.
Though Minnesota is still technically alive for an NFC playoff spot, the Vikings will have to get in as a Wild Card team, as they are not catching the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North crown. While this team may be at the tail-end of its competitive life cycle, we should not expect them to get a new head coach and quarterback combo at the end of the season. But after 2021, it could happen.
Cousins is under contract two more years in Minnesota. Cutting him will be pricey, but maybe Vikings fans will have had enough of his good-but-never-great play after a fourth year on the job? As for Zimmer, he is an NFL head coach, so he could be fired at any time. One would think if one were to leave the Vikings organization, the other would soon follow. Oh, what 2022 could bring.
3. Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll/North Dakota State Bison quarterback Trey Lance
For the sake of argument, I will include a potential pairing that could theoretically happen this offseason. This will come down to two things: The Vikings being willing to fire Zimmer after presumably failing to make the playoffs and general manager Rick Spielman being totally comfortable with eating all of Cousins’ salary if he cannot orchestrate a blockbuster trade.
Because the Vikings will not be in the sweepstakes to draft Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson or Justin Fields out of Ohio State this year, they would have to settle for the No. 3 quarterback to be taken off the board in North Dakota State Bison standout Trey Lance. He starred as the same FCS powerhouse Carson Wentz did, but let’s hope the first-round lock does not end up like Wentz.
As for who could lead the Vikings in 2021 if Zimmer is no longer the guy, how about Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll? Buffalo has established a tremendous culture of winning under head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane. Daboll and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier have certainly gotten some shine from the team’s overall success.
So the idea behind drafting Lance and pairing him with Daboll is this: Lance is a native Minnesotan who possesses similar dual-threat playmaking abilities of Bills star quarterback Josh Allen. Daboll has been instrumental in Allen’s development the last three years. If he can get Lance to play like Allen did on his rookie deal, this would be a home-run pairing for the Vikings to consider right now.