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  2 Good Dudes; Thielen & Ham Officially Retire Together
Posted by: purplefaithful - 03-20-2026, 08:43 AM - Forum: The Longship - Replies (1)

The Minnesota natives held a joint news conference at the team’s Eagan headquarters to celebrate their careers and reminisce with family, friends and former coworkers.

The lives of former Vikings team captains Adam Thielen and C.J. Ham are so intertwined that not only did they play against each other in college as Division II conference rivals for Minnesota State Mankato and Augustana University, but so did their wives, Caitlin Thielen and Stephanie Ham, who were soccer players for the same schools.

So it was fitting that on Thursday, March 19, Thielen and Ham officially retired as Vikings in a joint news conference held inside the team’s auditorium at their Eagan headquarters. The larger space than the typical media center accommodated friends, family and former coaches who attended to see the lifelong Minnesotans retire in purple. The event began with a short video from co-owner Mark Wilf celebrating the “Vikings for life.”

They announced their retirements this offseason after wide receiver Thielen (146) and fullback Ham (141) played the second- and third-most games by undrafted players on offense in Vikings franchise history, trailing only Hall of Fame center Mick Tingelhoff (240).

“A lifelong friend,” Thielen said of Ham. “We’re already doing a few events together, so we get to spend more time as retired guys. Hopefully we’ll get on the basketball court together. Trying to get him to go in the mornings and he’s trying to get me to go at nights, so we got to get on the same page.”

Ham told Thielen: “For the first times in our lives, we don’t have to wake up at 6, 7 o’clock in the morning, so I’m going to choose to play basketball at 7 p.m. versus 6 a.m., I’m sorry.”

Their storybook football careers began as rival high schoolers. Ham, from Duluth, and Thielen, from Detroit Lakes, provided a preview of two future Vikings on local high school fields.

“Who would’ve thought when Detroit Lakes was playing Duluth, that we’d be playing together on Sundays,” Thielen said. “That’s pretty crazy. Funny note on that — I think C.J. was 250 pounds at that time.”

“270,” Ham corrected.

“And I was trying to tackle him, and I was 155 pounds soaking wet,” Thielen said. “That was not a good matchup.”

Thielen, 35, announced his retirement in January after 13 NFL seasons, the first 10 in Minnesota. His journey to the Vikings — as an undrafted tryout from MSU Mankato — became embedded in NFL lore as he ascended from overlooked to two-time Pro Bowl selection. He interviewed for a job selling dental equipment the same month, May 2013, he tried out for and made the Vikings’ summer roster.

“I remember coming back and telling you that I was going down this [NFL] journey,” Thielen told his wife, Caitlin, during the news conference, “and you saying, ‘I don’t know, maybe you should get a real job.’ I did get a real job — maybe a little different than we thought.”

Ham, 32, also retired this offseason following 10 Vikings seasons. His own journey as a tryout player began in 2016, when he went undrafted as a running back out of Augustana in Sioux Falls.

Ham earned a practice squad spot during his first training camp, a portion spent with his wife, Stephanie, and their newborn daughter, Skylar, living with him in the team hotel after Ham’s roommate was cut from the roster.

“I don’t know if the team knows this,” Stephanie Ham told the Minnesota Star Tribune in 2021, “but me and Skylar lived in the team hotel with him for the first, I think, month of her life, or second month of her life. Right away, she was born into this football lifestyle.”

Ham missed only two of 138 possible games due to injury before this past year, when he underwent the first two surgeries of his playing career: an offseason ankle repair and a midseason operation to fix a broken hand. He also dealt with a knee injury, which contributed to him missing six games overall.

He considered retirement entering Year 10, but that thought solidified when he was forced to miss playing time.

Thielen said there was no doubt where he wanted to retire after spending about 2½ seasons between Carolina and Pittsburgh.

“I grew up a Vikings fan, dreamed to play for this team,” he said. “I always wanted to be like Cris Carter and Randy Moss and Jake Reed, so to be able to retire with my hometown team is such a blessing.”


STRIB

[Image: 65JHLPUGZRFDRFPGSYHZ2N6EWM.jpg?&w=436&ar=3:2&fit=crop]

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  Who will break the drought?
Posted by: FLVike - 03-19-2026, 10:33 PM - Forum: The Longship - Replies (12)

A Minnesota team has not been to a finals since the 1991 Twins got to the World Series then won it.
In my opinion, the Wild will not get to the Stanley Cup Finals and Timberwolves will not get to the NBA Finals.
I seriously doubt the Twins even get to the playoffs.
That leaves the Vikings. Can they get to the Superbowl? 

Who will break the drought?

And NO, I'm not including the Lynx.

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  Hadn't heard this one before...
Posted by: purplefaithful - 03-19-2026, 04:34 PM - Forum: The Longship - No Replies

Vikings Blocked Giants From Josh McCown Hire


Josh McCown is heading into his third season as Vikings quarterbacks coach. In addition to continuing the J.J. McCarthy developmental process, McCown will be coaching Kyler Murray in 2026.

Kevin O’Connell has lost Grant Udinski and Brian Angelichio from his offensive staff — to AFC OC gigs — over the past two offseasons, and NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo indicated (h/t The Athletic’s Dan Duggan) the Giants interviewed McCown for their OC post. While that could be something to keep in mind in the event Matt Nagy can move up the ladder in 2027, the Giants did not stop there with McCown.

John Harbaugh‘s team attempted to hire McCown as pass-game coordinator, making the former quarterback an offer. The Vikings, per Garafolo, blocked that move. Teams are allowed to block lateral moves involving contracted assistants; McCown also serves as Vikes pass-game coordinator.

No other team met with McCown about an OC position this offseason. Considering McCarthy’s issues last year, it is somewhat understandable teams were not eager to poach his position coach for a potential play-calling role. Then again, McCown was Sam Darnold‘s position coach during his breakthrough 2024 Pro Bowl campaign. McCown has yet to interview for an OC job since taking the Vikings position, but he did meet with the Jets about their HC post last year.

We heard in early January the Giants had McCown on their radar, though they eventually hired Nagy to call plays under Harbaugh. McCown’s career included no Ravens stops, though both he and GM Joe Schoen were with the Dolphins in 2008.

The Giants hired Brian Callahan for their QBs coach/PGC role. This McCown update points to the ex-Titans HC being at least New York’s second choice. Callahan did receive OC consideration this offseason, interviewing for the Buccaneers and Chargers’ play-calling positions. He will instead work as a top Nagy lieutenant. Should Nagy be a one-and-done, however, Callahan could find himself competing with McCown for Big Blue’s play-calling post in 2027.

McCown, 46, has been on NFL staffs since 2023. The Texans, however, interviewed him for their HC job in 2021 and ’22. The Panthers fired McCown after one season on Frank Reich‘s staff, but he found a quick landing spot under O’Connell. The former 19-year NFL vet will work as a key staffer under O’Connell and OC Wes Phillips once again.

FWIW: Pro Football Rumors

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  Doogie interviews J. Theismann
Posted by: purplefaithful - 03-19-2026, 03:06 PM - Forum: The Longship - No Replies

https://kstp.com/minnesota-sports/watch-...o-vikings/

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  OT....
Posted by: purplefaithful - 03-19-2026, 01:47 PM - Forum: The Longship - Replies (21)

totally off the wall...

What (if any) of your kid favorites still make the pantry/fridge or freezer today? At least sometimes?

For me:

Cap'N Crunch Cereal
Oscar Mayer Beef Bologna
Skippy Chunky Peanut Butter

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  Good for Fred Hoiberg/NCAA Tourney upsets
Posted by: StickierBuns - 03-19-2026, 01:42 PM - Forum: The Longship - Replies (11)

The Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team secured their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory in program history, defeating the Troy Trojans 76-47 in the first round. Led by Pryce Sandfort's hot shooting, the No. 4 seeded Huskers broke an 0-8 all-time tournament record, marking a historic milestone.

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  Vikings re-sign QB Carson Wentz
Posted by: StickierBuns - 03-19-2026, 07:50 AM - Forum: The Longship - Replies (94)

Kevin Seifert
@SeifertESPN
·
2m
The Vikings have indeed re-signed QB Carson Wentz. Given the depth issues they've faced at the position in 2023, and again in 2025, they want to minimize the risk of having an inexperienced QB on the field in 2026.

And for those riding KOC's jock too hard, keep this in mind:

Tom Pelissero
@TomPelissero
·
8m
The Vikings have used three or more QBs twice in Kevin O'Connell's four seasons, so the plan was to have depth entering 2026. They get it with the return of Carson Wentz, who is entering his 11th NFL season.

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  Murray is not Darnold, part 2
Posted by: MaroonBells - 03-19-2026, 07:36 AM - Forum: The Longship - Replies (20)

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  Ok, enough bitching and complaining
Posted by: StickierBuns - 03-18-2026, 02:35 PM - Forum: The Longship - Replies (13)

How's Mr. Kyler Cole Murray going to take us deep into the playoffs? Can some of that hero ball put some stakes through the hearts of NFCN fans in epic fashion? It would be SO enjoyable to see the guy do to others what has been historically done to the Vikings. Pull some rabbits out of his hat and win some games in the most heartbreaking manner possible for OTHER team's fans for once. God I'd love to see that. I think he's going to be very jonesed to show Viking's fans his best....especially after he feels that U.S. Bank love.


[Image: kyler-murray.gif]

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  ESPN: Shhh, quiet please.....men at work
Posted by: StickierBuns - 03-18-2026, 07:52 AM - Forum: The Longship - Replies (14)

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4822...ler-murray

"After talking to sources inside and outside the organization, the best way to think of the Vikings' current approach is an aggressive right-sizing of their roster finances. The Wilfs did not order a lower cash payroll this season, multiple sources confirmed. The NFL is not structured for teams to have indefinite annual spending at the rate the Vikings have in recent years, and essentially the Vikings decided that 2026 was the time to eat their vegetables.

"We had a plan that we devised together," Brzezinski said, "and I'm just really proud of the way everybody worked together, identifying some targets that we were able to reach agreements with. There's others we weren't, but I think I'm really most proud of the patience. ... Really grateful also for [Hockenson and Jones] reworking their contracts to find a middle ground. These were two players and two people that are really important to our football team and to [coach Kevin O'Connell] in our locker room.

"So I feel like we've navigated responsibly the future versus being competitive this year. And I feel like we're in a really good spot, but like we keep saying, there's a long way to go."

What are the Vikings doing? They're planning a run at the playoffs while resuscitating their financial outlook and adjusting, for at least one year, a quarterback plan that went awry."

- Kevin Seifert, ESPN

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