Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has made coaching quarterbacks look easy — but it certainly is not.
A scathing investigation into the dysfunction of the Bears organization’s first year with Caleb Williams unveiled many thorns to the former No. 1 overall pick and the missteps that the Vikings strived to avoid in preparing J.J. McCarthy to be their starter.
Several former Bears coaches told Tyler Dunne, a long-form reporter previously with Bleacher Report, that Williams lacked work ethic, did not try to learn new concepts and failed to execute offensive play calls consistently.
Dunne’s exposé provided a counterpoint to the narrative that Chicago’s coaching staff had failed Williams, revealing his unwillingness to buy into the coaching staff’s system and instead needing a simplified system tailored to him. This created a rift in the locker room, leading some veteran leaders to suggest giving Tyson Bagent some first-team reps to push Williams in practice.
The divide ultimately led the Bears to fire head coach Matt Nagy and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, whose fatal flaw was bending to Williams’ demands instead of sitting him until he learned the offense.
What happened in Chicago is a reversal of what McCarthy was experiencing in Minnesota.
The starting job was Sam Darnold’s to lose when the Vikings signed him to a one-year deal just two months before drafting McCarthy, who suffered a season-ending meniscus injury in the first preseason game last year.
McCarthy spent what many considered a lost rookie season learning the game in a de facto internship in O’Connell’s quarterback ecosystem.
Williams flashed upside with playmaking akin to Patrick Mahomes that made him a No. 1 overall pick. But playing hero ball comes with a positional arrogance that must be overcome when they reach the next level.
Purple Insider’s Matthew Coller likened what McCarthy’s career with the Vikings could be to Jared Goff, who doesn’t have the most dazzling highlight reel but has led two No. 1 scoring offenses and five top-five scoring offenses in his career by being smart, working hard and executing his coach’s offense.
“This is why you draft J.J. McCarthy,” Coller said. “They drafted a guy who was gonna buy in… The way he played in the preseason game: was it miraculous? No. But he got rid of the football, and he ran the operation. We sound foolish saying [that], but then you hear that [Williams] story and you’re like, ‘Yeah, Caleb Williams couldn’t get the call in, couldn’t run the plays, couldn’t learn the offense. This stuff’s really hard. This stuff takes a ton of work.”
Yes, it’s early to say that the Vikings’ plans with McCarthy were correct.
However, McCarthy, the youngest starter entering the 2025 season at just 22 years old, has done his homework and is prepared.
While injured during his rookie season, McCarthy had weekly meetings with O’Connell that coincided with numerous projects for the young quarterback.
He attended quarterback meetings. He handled tedious assignments like writing down third-down play calls for game day. He put together scouting reports and profiles on opposing defensive coordinators and players.
“It was making sure that I knew all the ins and outs and all the busy work on the front end,” McCarthy told ESPN, “when I had the time for it. So [this year] I don’t have to spend too much time on things that aren’t going to show up in the biggest way and just really making sure I can be efficient with my prepping and my game-plan studying.”
McCarthy has carried himself with a maturity that’s rare for his age and seems to be already operating like a pro entering his first season as a starter.
