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Former NFL coach questions Vikings’ commitment to JJ McCarthy
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Former NFL head coach Eric Mangini isn’t sold on the Vikings’ conviction to see JJ McCarthy succeed in Minnesota.
McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Michigan, is entering his rookie do-over season in the NFL. After 1 preseason appearance, a meniscus tear sidelined him for the entire 2024 season. It never seemed as though the Vikings planned to throw McCarthy to the fire right away, but with 2024 starter Sam Darnold bolting for Seattle in free agency, the pressure is on McCarthy this summer to rise to the moment.
During his show on Wednesday, FOX Sports’ host Colin Cowherd questioned why Minnesota reportedly looked at other quarterbacks this offseason. Again on Thursday, he said, “flirting leads to trouble in all aspects of life,” before asking Mangini for his assessment on the quarterback spot in Minnesota.
“If you’ve got to constantly tell everybody how great your quarterback is, how wonderful… You start to worry that they’re doing it to pump him up, to give him confidence,” the former Jets and Browns head coach told Cowherd. “I didn’t love him coming out in the draft. Now, we’re a year removed, he’s coming off an injury, he has no experience.
“… I know they went and got Sam Howell as a backup. I could see this being a landing spot for Kirk Cousins at some point as an insurance policy if this doesn’t work. … They want to make this work, they’ve invested a lot in him. I don’t know if they have a real conviction with it or if they’re just trying to build up everybody’s confidence.”
On Wednesday, Cowherd stated that McCarthy had been picked off in Vikings OTAs for the third straight day before launching into a rant about the former Michigan quarterback’s perceived lack of “great” traits.
“There’s so much mystery here. Why does Minnesota keep flirting with other quarterbacks? And there’s too many conflicting reports on JJ McCarthy, so I just find the whole thing… there’s a lot of stuff I just don’t know,” Cowherd said.
To an extent, questions about McCarthy will persist until Minnesota opens its season against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 8. Nothing McCarthy does between now and then will convince skeptics or sway optimists.
And yet, Minnesota offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said earlier this week that McCarthy is on track in his development.
“I think (J.J.) is right where he needs to be right now,” Phillips said, per The Athletic. “And right where we thought he’d be. I don’t think he’d come up here and say he mastered the offense. Every rep is a learning rep.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.