Colin Cowherd made headlines last month when he said that the Minnesota Vikings would double their win total from last season. While he didn’t peg the Vikings on a 16-1 record, he doubled down on his prediction during an interview with The Volume, saying they could be one of the NFL’s most surprising teams next season.
"I know you think I'm out of my mind…"
—@ColinCowherd has picked his surprise team for the NFL season pic.twitter.com/qk8xGdBJBa
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) July 18, 2022
One of Cowherd’s biggest reasons for his pick was the firing of head coach Mike Zimmer. KFAN’s Ben Leber told Zach Gelb of CBS Sports last weekend that Zimmer “didn’t like” Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and Cowherd believes that relationship was one of the biggest reasons for the Vikings’ failures last season.
“If you ever had a boss who was rigid…and he didn’t even trust you, I absolutely think it effects your performance,” Cowherd explained. “Kirk Cousins, whose personality can shrink in big games anyway, when you look at his season, they won a couple of overtime games but they were just not very good late and I think that’s going to be a game changer.”
Cousins allegedly had a rocky relationship with Zimmer and the Vikings tended to play tentatively during Zimmer’s final season in Minnesota.
New head coach Kevin O’Connell said during his introductory press conference that he wants Cousins “to play with a quiet mind.” O’Connell’s previous stop as Cousins’ QB coach in Washington during the 2017 season should also help forge a better relationship than the one Cousins had with Zimmer.
“That’s why I picked the Vikings to be my surprise team in the NFL,” Cowherd continued. “13-14 wins. I know you think I’m out of my mind.”
Cowherd’s opinion echoes those floating around TCO Performance Center. With the Vikings bringing back most of the same roster that has missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons, they’re betting that O’Connell can get more out of the team than Zimmer did.
