ESPN.com · Jul 20, 2025
Inside Vikings' plan for J.J. McCarthy's lost rookie season
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EAGAN, Minn. -- For one hour per week last fall, Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell cleared his calendar. He put aside game-planning, practice prep and film study. He ensured he had no team meetings scheduled, no news conferences and no phone calls that needed to be returned.
Instead, O'Connell turned his focus to the franchise's most important long-term asset: quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
The pair spent that hour meeting one-on-one in O'Connell's office, the centerpiece of an extensive program the Vikings arranged (while attending to the immediate needs of a 14-3 regular season), to ensure that McCarthy's rookie year was not a total loss.
