Vikings leaders fire back at ludicrous conspiracy theory

Following the departure of longtime starting quarterback Kirk Cousins this week, some theories have been thrown around about some potential division between the current leaders of the Minnesota Vikings.

After Cousins' recent comments about the Atlanta Falcons owner, general manager, and head coach all being on the same page, ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio felt that meant that the current people in those same positions for the Vikings weren't in agreement when it came to moving on from the quarterback.

Well, Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made sure to emphasize during a press conference on Thursday that everyone has been in complete alignment with every decision the team has made in all of their time working together, including the choice they made with Cousins earlier this week.

Minnesota Vikings leaders having different opinions doesn't mean they're divided

O'Connell admitted, once again, that he would have loved to have Cousins back as the Vikings' starting quarterback for the 2024 season. Adofo-Mensah has also said something similar multiple times during the last few months.

But both were fully aware that signing Cousins to the type of contract he landed from Atlanta wasn't going to help Minnesota achieve the goals they have set for the franchise during the next few years.

Even if O'Connell really wanted the Vikings to do almost whatever it took to re-sign Cousins this offseason, the team has a set of checks and balances to make sure what's best for the team is always first on the organization's list of priorities. Minnesota's head coach knows that, even if some decisions are harder to make than others.

O'Connell helped the Vikings' come to a similar decision during last year's NFL Draft.

When it came time for Minnesota to make their selection in the first round, Adofo-Mensah was considering trading back to accumulate more picks. But O'Connell told him to stick to their plan, and so the Vikings stood pat and selected former USC wide receiver Jordan Addison with their first-round pick.

As long as there is the existence of solid communication, it is completely fine for O'Connell, Adofo-Mensah, or anyone else who is part of Minnesota's current leadership to have a different opinion about how the team should approach a certain player or situation.

Once some of these differing opinions start to be discussed behind people's backs, then dysfunction within an organization has a much better chance of exisiting.

But in the middle of their third offseason working together, there have been zero signs of dysfunction between O'Connell, Adofo-Mensah, and the rest of the Vikings leadership.