2 Vikings Coaches Predicted to Leave the Team

 
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A panel of ESPN experts are talking about which coaches could be the next head coaches in the NFL going into 2026.
The Minnesota Vikings have been able to pretty much maintain their staff from last season to 2025, which is no small accomplishment. Not many NFL teams have been so lucky. But, that luck may run out.

A panel of ESPN experts are talking about which coaches could be the next head coaches in the NFL going into 2026, and two of the Vikings’ key guys are on the tally.

 
Minnesota Vikings Could Lose Some Coaches
Now, the 2026 season is a long way away, so this isn’t something we should worry about quite yet. But, when the 2025 season wraps up, there will inevitably be some coaching shakeups, and that will result in some musical chairs when it comes to coaches around the NFL. It’s always exciting to see which coaches pop up with other NFL teams during the offseason, as long as it’s not losing someone important from our team, of course.

In a June 16 feature for ESPN, a panel discussed which NFL staffers will graduate to becoming head coaches in 2026, and a few of our guys are on the roster.

In the feature, they asked the question, “Which key assistant coach is most likely to be in the 2026 head coaching cycle?” Bears reporter Courtney Cronin and Vikings reporter Kevin Seifert both picked Vikings staffers.

In the piece, Cronin picked Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. “If the Vikings’ defense performs as well as it did in 2024 (tied for first in turnovers, second in EPA/play, fifth in points allowed), expect Flores’ name to once again circulate in the head coaching cycle,” Cronin said.

Cronin continued, “Flores interviewed for three jobs last year — Bears, Jets, Jaguars — and has been a head coach before with Dolphins. Whether teams have the desire to hire Flores with his ongoing lawsuit against the NFL and the public fallout from his relationship with Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (especially teams that have young QBs or are looking to draft one) remains to be seen.”

Seifert named Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, explaining that “as wild as it sounds, the 2024 season was McCown’s first full season as an NFL assistant coach. He opted against interviewing for offensive coordinator positions, but still got an interview for the New York Jets’ head coaching job.”

Seifert added, “McCown has long been on the league’s radar, having interviewed for the Houston Texans‘ top job in 2022, and if McCarthy performs well in 2025, McCown might be able to skip the coordinator level altogether.”

 
A Viking in the Hot Seat
Elsewhere, Packers reporter Rob Demovsky said that he believes J.J. McCarthy is one of the quarterbacks with something to prove in the NFC North this season.

“The national narrative has been that Love regressed in Year 2 as a starter — something both Love and Packers coach Matt LaFleur have pushed back on this offseason — but he’s probably No. 3 on the NFC North quarterback prove-it list behind McCarthy and the Bears’ Caleb Williams,” Demovsky states.

He adds that “McCarthy should be at the top of this list because the Vikings have been — and are expected to remain — a playoff team despite turning to a quarterback who hasn’t played an NFL snap yet.”

 
Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson