Kevin O'Connell wasn't ready to announce publicly Wednesday whether he plans to fire or retain defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. The Vikings coach said he's still in "evaluation mode" with every facet of the operation.
The fact that he didn't guarantee Donatell will return for a second season not only creates an awkward dance if there isn't a change, but it calls into question O'Connell's hiring judgment in picking Donatell in the first place.
Donatell's defense was a disaster in Year 1. There's no other way to frame it. Players often looked out of position and slow to react.
That the Vikings won 13 games despite fielding one of the league's worst defenses was like running a marathon with a sofa strapped to your back.
"It's very, very important that we look at it from a standpoint of the 'why,'" O'Connell said. "Why did it happen?"
While it's true that he has become the convenient target, Donatell does need to be replaced. But his job status is drawing attention away from another sobering answer to the "why."
Their talent is just not that good.
Anyone who watched the New York Giants offense zoom around the field in Sunday's 31-24 wild-card playoff loss could not miss the discrepancy in talent on display.
The Vikings defense is old, slow and lacks dynamic playmakers in their prime.
That decaying process has unfolded over years and has left the new front office a messy situation that cannot be fixed in one offseason.
In 2015, then-GM Rick Spielman selected cornerback Trae Waynes, linebacker Eric Kendricks and defensive end Danielle Hunter with his first three draft picks. That was a home run draft for the defense.
Since then, soggy toast.
In the seven drafts since 2015, the Vikings have drafted 36 defensive players. Not one of those 36 players had an impact that can be classified as a premier difference-maker.
Only 14 of those 36 players remain on the roster. And only one was a full-time starter this season, safety Camryn Bynum.
One.
Cornerback Cameron Dantzler was a part-time starter. The rest are backups and special teams players.
The 2022 draft class deserves an incomplete grade because three of the defensive picks — Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans — suffered injuries that caused them to miss all or a significant part of the season. Nobody knows whether any of those three will turn into viable starters, so for now, they remain unknowns.
Moral of the story: Talent is a problem. As much of a problem as the coordinator.
Repeated swings-and-misses in the draft have forced the Vikings to rely on aging veterans past their best years. This leaves one wondering how exactly General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is going to fix this broken defense.
Ask yourself this: Which players make up the next wave of young talent that will provide the foundation for an improved defense? Adofo-Mensah talks optimistically about his young core but that's based on projections right now. On hope.
Adofo-Mensah is not in position to buy his way out of problems because bloated contracts for a handful of veterans have hindered salary cap flexibility. That delicate dance will continue in the short term.
Justin Jefferson is closing in on a mega payday, perhaps as soon as this offseason. He's going to command a salary akin to established quarterbacks. The market for top-tier wide receivers has exploded in recent years, and a $30 million annual salary is going to be a starting point for Jefferson.
That reality falls in the same space on Adofo-Mensah's timeline for creating a succession plan at quarterback, knowing Kirk Cousins' future beyond next season must be addressed.
Constructing a roster with those big-ticket items on his to-do list while navigating a complicated salary cap situation underscores the importance of Adofo-Mensah proving himself in the draft process.
The team simply cannot afford more empty drafts, especially for defensive players. Their defense needs to become younger and faster and reliant on more starters who are playing on their rookie contracts.
Meeting those needs won't be a quick or easy fix. Replacing the coordinator would be a start, but problems run deeper than just that.
