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The Athletic writer observed that the Vikings are now possess a top-to-bottom culture of positive moves.
Consecutive "masterclasses in FA"? Love that.
As noted, it starts with the owners, but extends with continuity through the GM and coaching staff.
Lunchbreak: The Athletic Evaluates Vikings Vision Through Bill Walsh Lens
There are favorable odds of Minnesota benefiting from consecutive masterclasses in free agency.
The signings alone – no less, how brilliant performances from 2024 additions helped the Vikings win 14 games last season and further established a culture of appeal for future targeted players – are a feather in the cap of General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his staff. That in conjunction with what appears to be a resourceful, and focused, 2025 Draft haul confirmed Minnesota is trending the direction it wants.
Inking Adofo-Mensah to a contract extension Friday was a continuation of what’s long been in motion – Vikings brass is aligned in its goals, determined to reach them and aware of the best processes to do so.
Maybe, that’s not news. But it’s something rare in a league rightfully obsessed with winning.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis on Thursday introduced insights from former San Francisco 49ers executive and three-time Super Bowl champion coach Bill Walsh to understand, in depth, the vision held by the Vikings.
Citing passages – and lessons – from one of Walsh’s books, “Building a Champion,” co-authored with Glenn Dickey, Lewis gathers Minnesota is navigating well what is really a delicate dance.
That is, a working relationship between coaches and members of the front office that tends to be challenging in nature. Walsh worded it like this: “Each man’s priorities can be diametrically opposed.”
Walsh’s tactics and standards are emulated across football, but they’re not often perfected; his experiences, Lewis detailed, resulted in two conclusions: 1) Teams hoping to sustain winning operate with continuity, and 2) a team’s leadership must be willing to change when something doesn’t work.
Lewis deftly connects the formula prescribed in Walsh’s manual, extolling Minnesota for extending Adofo-Mensah and in turn keeping intact the partnership between him and Head Coach Kevin O’Connell.
In doing so, Vikings ownership demonstrated an obvious commitment to “attaining the elusive trophy.”
As proof that continuity is integral to a thoughtfully constructed championship chase, Lewis asked and answered a series of questions: First, how many clubs have won 60 percent of their games since 2020?
Seven.
Who are they?
The Chiefs, Bills, Packers, Ravens, Eagles, Buccaneers and Steelers.
And what do they share in common?
Six of the seven have the same general manager now that they had in 2020, and the only one that doesn’t (Pittsburgh) made a change when the previous GM retired. Additionally, only the Eagles and Bucs have different head coaches than the ones they began the decade with, and Tampa Bay replaced the former coach with his defensive coordinator.
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