McCarthy to get his shot in New York

Zanary wrote:

I'm sorry, kids, but it's looking pretty irrefutable that we traded our best QB, and KOC can't "raise" those young QBs he talks about "failing".

It’s hardly irrefutable but the evidence is mounting.

Thank God we’re 6-0 or watching JJM play well in NY would be even worse. Happy for him, confused for us.

Only guy on this team who went to bat for JJM got fired. Would be darkly funny if KAM was right.

pattersaur wrote:

It’s hardly irrefutable but the evidence is mounting.
Thank God we’re 6-0 or watching JJM play well in NY would be even worse. Happy for him, confused for us.
Only guy on this team who went to bat for JJM got fired. Would be darkly funny if KAM was right.

I'm in a similar boat, but reserve the right to see this as a full-on failure by both KOC (who had to be involved) and Teasley (who ultimately did the deal).

The Vikings have been my team since I was old enough to watch a football game, and my family's team since its creation. I root for them first, always.

I would/will cheer for the Vikings against JJM, as I did against Cousins, etc. That said, I wish them both success when not playing against us.

I just find it exhausting after so many people were shivering with anticipation at "Murry in KOC's offense", but the result is disappointing at best. Wentz did more in week 1 (3 TDs) than Murray can do in multiple weeks. He looks tentative and overwhelmed, and yet he supposedly won the "competition". Meanwhile, JJM has about 500 yards of passing in 5 quarters on a team he's only been on for weeks.

He's making those "between the numbers" passes he supposedly couldn't do. He's got some undeniable touch passes that were, again, supposedly beyond him. It's doubly sickening that he was our highest drafted QB and we have a "QB Whisperer" that currently is needing to ride our defense for wins.

I'll just keep holding out the tiny, irrational hope that the kid ends up in a "Fran 2.0" situation and comes back.

StickierBuns wrote:

https://x.com/ringer/status/2114673401524887744?s=20

First off, Bill Simmons is still around? haha. I thought he was long gone (not dead, just not on the airwaves anymore).

But his sentiments are exactly how I feel. "What are we doing?!" Funny thing is, the Wilfs were big Giants fans, so maybe they are loving that their childhood team is getting better with Harbaugh at the helm and now McCarthy winning his first game against a Houston defense that is fairly good.

StickierBuns wrote:

https://x.com/PhilMackey/status/2114482824598454532?s=20

Phil Mackey, whom I couldn't care less to listen to most of the time is 100% correct. And I saw that throw in live action and I just shook my head in frustration again.

IceRatz16 wrote:

Phil Mackey, whom I couldn't care less to listen to most of the time is 100% correct. And I saw that throw in live action and I just shook my head in frustration again.

I was in a rehearsal during the early games, but had a pile of stuff on my phone when I got done...including McCarthy looking like he was determined to prove that the infamous 4th quarter was no fluke.

He looks so much more confident and aggressive than Murray, it's really brutal to compare.

Havoc wrote:

He was lights out people. We haven’t seen a performance on the same planet this year. He had multi0le 40+ hits in the first half and a couple of hundred yards. He averaged like 18 to 20 yards a pass.
Just like nearly every franchise QB that’s ever existed, it’s taking time for him to develop. Minnesota fans can’t handle that. Obviously Vikings brass can’t either. If he continues to have a good year, I’d fire Teasley asap. I’ve waited decades for them to draft and develop a franchise QB like the best franchises do and this is what we get.
You know why I think it went south? I think JJ and likely a number of players, knew he was a far better starter than Kyler. The more Kyler did nothing the more pressure the brass had to move him. I don’t blame JJ at all if he wanted out so he could actually play somewhere. It’s obvious the Vikings gave up on him when they started Kyler ahead of him. I had high hopes for Kyler’s but he should be benched for Wentz asap.

I agree 100%. I was fully against the trade from the start and always felt that he was sacrificed to protect Kyler. To me, this is a fireable offense. Whether that is KOC or Teasley I'm not sure, but no matter what I guarantee the trade wasn't made without KOC's blessing. How long have we waited to have a young, talented, franchise QB of our own? Instead, we gave him 10 games and then traded him for a 5th f*ing rounder.

Hell we gave Tarvaris and Ponder multiple SEASONS and they never showed a quarter of the flashes that McCarthy has shown at times. He won his last 4 starts to end the season last year and then is dumped for peanuts. It's really putting a downer on a season that I would normally be ecstatic about.

Realistically the question has to be...what the hell happened? If McCarthy looks like this in 1 game with the Giants, WHY was he given almost no chance here? Was it personal? I can't imagine KOC is foolish enough to let the best QB walk out the door (If he is that) because of some Kyler Murray loyalty. It just feels like maybe at some point McCarthy told KOC to suck rocks or something. If it is personal, I really wonder about KOC and his ability to mold young players/QB's. It's been mentioned before, KOC is a good organizer, but maybe not a top OC or play strategizer. It might be time to move on from Wes and get a quality Coordinator in here who can develop and strategize. I think letting Udinski walk was a mistake. The Vikings should have shitcanned Philips and elevated Udinski to OC. He has turned around that Jaguars offense as well as Temu Fabio.

Ultimately I am happy for McCarthy, but I am also sad for the Vikings. Sure we are 6-0, but will it last? Also wth do we do after the season? I guess if we win the SB who the hell cares right? I just don't think Murray will get us there and it makes me sad to think that personal circumstances might be why we don't have our 10 year franchise QB.

Also, a disclaimer, it is only 1 more game. It will take 3 or 4 more games of consistency to push the ball down the road to make me think we screwed up on letting him go, BUT for whatever reason, why the hell were those 5 or 6 more games not here?

Anyways, SKOL!

J.J. McCarthy is earning the respect of his teammates 😤 pic.twitter.com/UdTtwPe1rQ

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 26, 2026

StickierBuns wrote:

https://x.com/sinow/status/2114788426478178586?s=46&t=ohFAAgt56m6anXyDpx1btQ

This was never a question with him. Never. Not surprised he has that locker room already.

Vikesrock wrote:

Realistically the question has to be...what the hell happened? If McCarthy looks like this in 1 game with the Giants, WHY was he given almost no chance here? Was it personal? I can't imagine KOC is foolish enough to let the best QB walk out the door (If he is that) because of some Kyler Murray loyalty. It just feels like maybe at some point McCarthy told KOC to suck rocks or something. If it is personal, I really wonder about KOC and his ability to mold young players/QB's. It's been mentioned before, KOC is a good organizer, but maybe not a top OC or play strategizer. It might be time to move on from Wes and get a quality Coordinator in here who can develop and strategize. I think letting Udinski walk was a mistake. The Vikings should have shitcanned Philips and elevated Udinski to OC. He has turned around that Jaguars offense as well as Temu Fabio.
Ultimately I am happy for McCarthy, but I am also sad for the Vikings. Sure we are 6-0, will it last? Also wth do we do after the season? I guess if we win the SB who the hell cares right? I just don't think Murray will get us there and it makes me sad to think that personal circumstances might be why we don't have our 10 year franchise QB.
Also, a disclaimer, it is only 1 more game. It will take 3 or 4 more games of consistency to push the ball down the road to make me think we screwed up on letting him go, BUT for whatever reason, why the hell were those 5 or 6 more games not here?
Anyways, SKOL!

I honestly think he wanted out of here...How that manifested itself in the bldg, the locker room at practice?

Thats inside stuff...The reasons for it have been discussed ad nauseam.

But I'm sure someone at some point got it right.

purplefaithful wrote:

I honestly think he wanted out of here...
The reasons for it have been discussed ad nauseam.
But I'm sure someone at some point got it right.

Has it been discussed...yes. Does anyone really know why...no, it's all been at best a guess based on KOC's word salad and the media's horsepucky. Maybe in 5 or 10 years, someone will sit KOC down for a candid interview and ask what really happened. Maybe McCarthy made a pass at his wife or something...

StickierBuns wrote:

https://x.com/sinow/status/2114788426478178586?s=46&t=ohFAAgt56m6anXyDpx1btQ

That sounds familiar.

Vikesrock wrote:

Has it been discussed...yes. Does anyone really know why...no, it's all been at best a guess based on KOC's word salad and the media's horsepucky. Maybe in 5 or 10 years, someone will sit KOC down for a candid interview and ask what really happened. Maybe McCarthy made a pass at his wife or something...

What's been repeated, by both KOC and JJM, is that he had NOT demanded a trade or sought to leave, and that he was very surprised by the trade.

What I get from this is that there was some issue, personally, between KOC and the kid...and the coach has the power. Also, there's the element of a GM wanting to mold the roster to THEIR vision, and he basically inherited JJM and the whole "competition" fiction.

I have seen zero evidence that KOC can "raise" the young QBs that have come and gone on his watch, but he seems eager to re-kindle discarded veterans. That makes sense, as they've already been through growing pains and the realities of pro football; sadly, it also throws mud on the "QB Whisperer" label that comes from getting a ring with a VERY veteran Matt Stafford.

To me, this next game is HUGE for us. Detroit can certainly put up piles of points and play fast, and even Flores' defense is likely to be challenged very hard all game long. The "dwarf king" had best put off that Call of Duty marathon and make us believers this Sunday...or, we'll be screaming for Wentz. Hell, we might scream for Brosmer.

Many of us are screaming for the return of McCarthy.

SFVikingFan wrote:

I agree 100%. I was fully against the trade from the start and always felt that he was sacrificed to protect Kyler. To me, this is a fireable offense. Whether that is KOC or Teasley I'm not sure, but no matter what I guarantee the trade wasn't made without KOC's blessing. How long have we waited to have a young, talented, franchise QB of our own? Instead, we gave him 10 games and then traded him for a 5th f*ing rounder.
Hell we gave Tarvaris and Ponder multiple SEASONS and they never showed a quarter of the flashes that McCarthy has shown at times. He won his last 4 starts to end the season last year and then is dumped for peanuts. It's really putting a downer on a season that I would normally be ecstatic about.

We paid more for Theilen than we got for McCarthy. Remember that watching Carolina using our 4th round pick in the 2027 draft.

Connor Hughes reached out to multiple Giants coaches after Sunday's win regarding JJ McCarthy and they said this, per Hughes:

"He was so mature. ... He was so calm throughout the game."

Hughes notes that maturity had been an issue in Minnesota and something that McCarthy seems… pic.twitter.com/kgVCxMLStt

— Big Blue Film Room (@BigBlueFilmRoom) October 27, 2026

Lol, an incredible transformation in ... (Checks watch) ... 3 weeks to a month.

Went from catastrophically immature to decidedly mature.

All the hand wringing over a always injured guy who threw up big #'s in garbage time vs the Saints terrible D and then against a lower end Houston defense.

Move on people. He's gone. This thread reads like we have a bunch of people who are on the "Housewives of Minneapolis"

Obviously, if we excel in the playoffs, nothing really matters, but I said it at the time that I thought a fifth was criminally low amount to accept in the trade, because the one catastrophically bad outcome was another Darnold situation where a QB leaves and does well, but our QB struggles. Its traumatic for the fanbase and its damning for the teams reputations. If you never trade him, no one sees him succeed or he succeeds or fails for you. There was no way it was worth the risk for a fifth.

That said I'm surprised how quickly the narrative has shifted. I would have thought the nine thing was one of those things that would have stuck harder. A lot of it is probably being pushed by the respective teams, but still... The vikings could have done a lot more to curb the bad publicity rather than fanning the flames.

medaille wrote:
That said I'm surprised how quickly the narrative has shifted. I would have thought the nine thing was one of those things that would have stuck harder. A lot of it is probably being pushed by the respective teams, but still... The vikings could have done a lot more to curb the bad publicity rather than fanning the flames.

Oh God, I'm not....this is all hyperbole with fans and the media. Its what they do. Listen, I'm having fun with JJM playing decently right out of the gate, but he's got to stack 3 or 4 more really good games for this over-the-top narrative to make any sense. This same media that said McCarthy was the scum below the toilet bowl rim in any public bathroom are the same ones saying the kid is Tom Brady now. Remember, he went to the NY Giants....not the Jacksonville Jaguars. They have to hype this for the #1 TV NFL market. Even a few on this board have gone a little gonzo with the JJM hype, lol.

One week at a time. What I'm happiest with is that the team and org. in New York have really embraced JJM....keep playing to his strengths. I never bought into this ridiculous 'immature' aspect of JJM, but fans are gonna fan.

SurfnRide wrote:

All the hand wringing over a always injured guy who threw up big #'s in garbage time vs the Saints terrible D and then against a lower end Houston defense.

Move on people. He's gone. This thread reads like we have a bunch of people who are on the "Housewives of Minneapolis"

Then, don't read it. Simple.

The kid was projected as our future, the potential franchise, finally a QB drafted early with all the expectations involved.

He got hurt, missed important early development, and took over in a season where he and Wentz both got pummeled behind our line. He looked rough, then had "mojo" that was both inspiring and comedically noisy, and was obviously improving until the hand (which had apparently been dinged for awhile) became untenable.

Yeah, it was infuriating. It was also telling that he immediately went into more QB coaching early in the offseason.

The "competition" was a pile of fictional garbage, and it's basically made the notion of KOC's QB developmental abilities to be a dark joke.

Now, a few weeks after being traded for half a pack of saltines, he's the headline of most sports sites as we fail to put up 20 points against a very weakened Colts team.

This is a big time of reflection on KOC, Teasley, and the possibility that we're just bolted to another slew of castoff QBs under the current leadership.

It matters, and it gets discussed. Read other threads.