NFC North coaching staff rankings: Vikings' leadership is among the elite
In Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores, the Vikings have a coaching duo that can go toe to toe with anyone.
Will Ragatz | 22 Hours Ago

It's time for one final edition of our NFC North rankings series. After going through six different categories of players, we'll finish with a look at the men on the sidelines (or up in the booth) making the calls. This is our ranking of the coaching staffs of the four teams in the division, which mostly weighs the head coach and two main coordinators. Let's dive in.

4. Lions
Head coach: Dan Campbell
Coordinators: John Morton (O), Kelvin Sheppard (D)
Notable assistants: Hank Fraley (OL/run game coord.), David Shaw (pass game coord.)

Is it crazy to rank the Lions this low? Maybe. The back-to-back division champs would've had a very strong case for the top spot in each of the last couple offseasons. But when you lose both of your coordinators to head-coaching jobs at the same time, there's a lot to prove. Ben Johnson is in Chicago. Aaron Glenn is with the Jets. Their replacements could step in without missing a beat — or they could struggle to fill the shoes of two of the sport's better coaches.

Morton, previously the Broncos' passing game coordinator under Sean Payton, has one year of NFL OC experience under his belt. Sheppard, 37, is an internal promotion and first-time coordinator who was a position coach in Detroit for the last four years. All of the signs point to Campbell being an excellent motivator and decision-maker in the head coach role, but he's never coached the Lions without Johnson and Glenn by his side. We're about to find out how important they were to Detroit's success.

3. Bears
Head coach: Ben Johnson
Coordinators: Declan Doyle (O), Dennis Allen (D)
Notable assistants: Antwaan Randle El (WRs/assistant HC), Eric Bienemy (RBs)

Head coach and offensive coordinator are different roles, but Johnson's track record suggests he was a home run hire for the Bears, whose primary focus has to be on maximizing Caleb Williams in year two and beyond. He'll put Chicago's young quarterback in position to succeed, especially with all of the talent around him. By his side will be Doyle, a wunderkind ex-Payton assistant who is just 29 years old. The Bears also have a couple standout position coaches in Randle El and Bienemy.

Another reason why the Bears avoid the last spot is Allen. He hasn't been great as a head coach for either the Saints or Raiders, but he was quite good as New Orleans' defensive coordinator in between those stints (2015-21). This staff looks much better than the ones led by Matt Eberflus and Luke Getsy or Shane Waldron in recent years.

2. Packers
Head coach: Matt LaFleur
Coordinators: Adam Stenavich (O), Jeff Hafley (D)
Notable assistants: Luke Butkus (OL), Jason Vrable (pass game coord.)

The Bears are hoping they now have what the Packers and Vikings do, which is a top-tier offensive mind at head coach. The proof is in the numbers for LaFleur, who has gone 67-33 in six regular seasons with Green Bay. He's just 28-23 over the last three years after famously starting 39-10 with MVP-level Aaron Rodgers, but the entire picture matters. Stenavich, Butkus, and Vrable have been around for a while and are important parts of the offensive operation.

Hafley was a big hire for the Packers in 2024, replacing the much-maligned Joe Barry. The former Boston College head coach interviewed with the Jets in January's hiring cycle, but he's back in Green Bay for a second season as DC. He's a very good defensive coach who could receive more head coaching interest in the future.

1. Vikings
Head coach: Kevin O'Connell
Coordinators: Wes Phillips (O), Brian Flores (D)
Notable assistants: Keenan McCardell (WRs), Josh McCown (QBs)

The Vikings' coaching staff can go toe-to-toe with the league's best. Playoff success hasn't been there yet, but reigning NFL coach of the year Kevin O'Connell is 34-17 in three regular seasons despite having five different quarterbacks start games during that span. His next task is to develop his long-term guy at the position in J.J. McCarthy. Phillips and McCown will also be a big part of that effort, along with Jordan Traylor, who was hired to replace the departed Grant Udinski.

In addition to one of the game's top offensive minds, the Vikings also have a madman mastermind on the defensive side of the ball. Flores had led one of the best, most unique defenses in the NFL over the last two seasons, and his personnel for 2025 is better than ever. The Vikings feel lucky to still have him after he interviewed for three head coaching vacancies in the winter. If Flores departs (which could happen as soon as next year), Daronte Jones might be in line to replace him internally. Flores, Phillips, McCown, McCardell, and Udinski could all be future head coaches in the league.

https://www.si.com/nfl/tom-brady-didnt-w...ree-agency

Premiered last night.  Filmed in my hometown and they actually had a scene where they panned over my house so had to watch.
It's on Netflix and first episode kept my interest albeit I was primarily interested in the location scenes.

Enforcer Barbie has some chops.

The vibe and reading-between-the-lines in Indy reveal its Daniel Jones and no looking back. Richardson has giant bust stenciled in on him currently. He's got a nagging injury, which is also concerning for the franchise. Next year is the last year on his rookie contract. The rumor was that Minnesota and KOC really liked Richardson, not sure what the case is now. Is he a candidate for KOC University in the future? Would he be interested in that if JJM becomes what we hope he will? 

Mistakes continue to be made by NFL teams with the #1 pick in the overall Draft. Is Tennessee next with Cam Ward? I tell you, the 2024 NFL QB Draft might go down as one of the best ones in NFL history.

Imagine once he actually plays.

A former Hormel Foods employee made off with top-secret sausage recipes and market intel before joining regional competitor Johnsonville, a new federal lawsuit alleges.

The Austin, Minn.-based maker of breakfast sausage and more accused Johnsonville and two former Hormel employees of conspiring to “unlawfully obtain Hormel’s trade secrets,” per the suit. Hormel is asking for the return and deletion of confidential data as well as unspecified monetary damages.

“The sausage market is increasingly competitive, and improper use of confidential, proprietary and trade-secret information, or wrongful competition or solicitation, could cause a manufacturer significant competitive economic disadvantage,” the suit read.

Johnsonville did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Hormel also did not immediately provide further comment Thursday.

Per the lawsuit:
In June 2023, veteran Hormel employee Brett Sims joined Johnsonville as chief supply chain officer. 

Sims allegedly started trying to poach other Hormel employees to join him at the Sheboygan Falls, Wis.-based sausage company in an apparent violation of a non-solicitation agreement. One of the employees Sims reached out to was Jeremy Rummel, who joined Johnsonville this spring after 25 years with Hormel.

Before telling Hormel he was joining a competitor, Rummel allegedly sent “product formulas, processing procedures, acquisition-target information and marketing-strategy information” to his personal email.

“Rummel was attempting to take Hormel’s confidential business information and trade secrets to Johnsonville for the express purpose of exploiting the information for Johnsonville’s benefit and to Hormel’s detriment,” the suit said.

Hormel confronted Rummel, who confessed to sending the information to his personal email. Rummel then went to Sims’ house “with the intent to share the details of his interview with Hormel and develop a plan to protect his new role at Johnsonville,” according to the lawsuit.

Sims and Rummel did not immediately respond to an email Thursday, nor did an attorney named in the lawsuit who has worked with Rummel and Johnsonville.

According to the filing, Johnsonville did not cooperate when Hormel sent a letter “outlining Sims’ and Rummel’s violations of their agreements, detailing their unlawful behavior and asking for a number of assurances from Johnsonville.”

Startribune

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/f...-mccarthy/

"I think that he's gonna surprise a lot of people. Because his ability, I watched him make every throw, he has a lot of zip on his passes and he is very knowledgeable of the offense, he knows where everybody's at," Culpepper said. "I think he's gonna be a master, I think he's working his way to be a master, and just remember I said it first, he's gonna tear up the league."

lol, silly Daunte.....'said it first'.....riiiight. Oh and this:

frontofficesports
1d
J.J. McCarthy made $4M from the NFLPA thanks to his jersey sales and licensing deal, the most since Tom Brady raked in $9.5M in 2021.

Big-time rookies often make big money off NFLPA payouts, as McCarthy was heading to the Vikings after leading Michigan to a national title.