Still, as the Vikings prepare for what is likely to be an anxiety-filled Monday night at Soldier Field, O’Connell’s opinion remains unchanged about the path toward optimal quarterback growth.
A long-term approach is required. Making too much of the opener goes against everything the Vikings preach about what it takes for a quarterback to succeed.
“I want him focused on the little details of doing his job against a really good defense,” O’Connell said last week. “We’re going to make some plays. They’re going to make some plays. It’s just onto the next snap, and start banking some of this experience and using it for your benefit moving forward.”
McCarthy’s performance in training camp was up and down. There were great days. He dissected the New England Patriots defense with precision during joint practices. There were also countless teaching opportunities. He would boot out of the pocket on an early-down snap in an 11-on-11 drill and fire a dangerous pass into a cluster of defenders.
Will he be able to apply the lessons he’s learned amid the cauldron of electricity? Can he maintain his composure in and out of the huddle? Will he be able to differentiate the velocity on his throws? Will he make correct decisions when he’s flushed from the pocket? None of this will be easy.
I thought this was a good call out:
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One of the main reasons McCarthy won so many games at Michigan? According to those who were a part of the program, which went 27-1 over three seasons with McCarthy as the starter, it was Jim Harbaugh.
It wasn’t the eccentric coach’s scheme. It wasn’t what he taught McCarthy about footwork. No, it was the way Harbaugh made McCarthy feel: like he belonged. Like he had the license to lead the way he’d always led. Like he was everything he believed himself to be, regardless of the external narrative.
Long before Harbaugh was smacking McCarthy’s pads on the sideline before games, he was texting and calling when McCarthy needed a confidant who empathized with what he was navigating at IMG.
“The relationship between those two was like nothing I’ve ever seen,” said Josh Sinagoga, now Michigan’s assistant quarterbacks coach. “It was so special. So real. So genuine. When the guy running the program is with you every day, and you know he has your back no matter what, that is one of the more powerful things I’ve seen being part of a program.”
In many ways, O’Connell wanted to generate a similar feeling in his quarterback.
He could have allocated all of his attention last year to Darnold. He didn’t. The play-calling coach and young quarterback met privately for an hour each week.
O’Connell also could have delayed McCarthy’s starting opportunity for the 2025 season. Instead, all offseason long — even when McCarthy was emerging from another difficult mental test amid the rehab of his torn meniscus and the Vikings hadn’t seen him in live action for months — O’Connell remained committed.
Not just to the player the Vikings picked 10th in the 2024 NFL Draft, but to the person beneath the purple No. 9 jersey.
How McCarthy performs Monday night and beyond might affect his ability to lift his teammates the way he always has. Lose for an extended period of time, and it’s fair to question whether McCarthy will be able to maintain his positive outlook and aura.
But perfection is not a realistic goal, especially at the outset.
As a sophomore at Michigan, he threw two interceptions in the College Football Playoff semifinal against TCU. There were times he misfired or made the wrong decision. But Harbaugh and the Wolverines did not waver in their commitment, and the result of their allegiance will live on forever.
Once he found his footing, McCarthy was back to his old self.
He was spotted limping through Schembechler Hall, days before a game against Maryland, asking teammates what they, too, were willing to give. He was approaching acting coach Sherrone Moore on the sideline at Beaver Stadium against Penn State, saying things like, “Whatever it takes. I don’t care what it is. Let’s run the damn ball. I just want to win this game.”
He was leaving 75-year-old coaches like Jackson saying things like, “People don’t know how different that boy really is. But they’re getting ready to find out.”
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