Purple Rumor Mill: Brian Flores’ Next Team, Shannon Sharpe’s QB Take for Vikings, an MVP Candidate

Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores addressed the media from the TCO Performance Center. Flores was hired in February 2023 to take over for Ed Donatel after Minnesota finished 30th in points allowed. VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle each week. All the week’s Vikings rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for review. Today is the December 14th edition. Purple Rumor Mill: Brian Flores’ Next Team, Shannon Sharpe’s QB Take for Vikings, an MVP Candidate Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the purple team, not necessarily items that will come to fruition. Here’s the first batch of the week. All past rumors can be read here. Rumor: Brian Flores might be on tap to coach … the Chicago Bears. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. Flores landed on a shortlist this week of new skippers for the Vikings’ rival, the Bears. Bears podcaster and author Dan McNeil tweeted Monday, one day after the Bears’ record fell to a lousy 4-8 mark: “Sources confirm these FOUR coaches are on the Bears’ list for HC: Ben Johnson, Brian Flores, Joe Brady, Mike Vrabel. They may want to talk to more candidates, but they’re targeting these four. More as soon as I get it.” Chicago recently fired previous head coach Matt Eberflus after a few years of futility and a ginormous, nationally viewed clock management blunder on Thanksgiving day. The Bears got a jump on the head coaching search, so lists, as McNeil mentioned, are fair play. This rumor is valid. Rumor: There is no chance for Sam Darnold to return with the Vikings in 2024, according to Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports. Sharpe is all over the place these days with hot takes, and the Vikings were not immune this week. He weighed in on the blossoming Sam Darnold vs. J.J. McCarthy debate. “You just invested a top-ten pick in J.J. McCarthy. There’s no guarantee. Quarterback is the only position that they’ll pay you based on potential or if you have one good year. Every other position you got to put multiple years together in order to get paid. Ja’Marr Chase put together three, four years, they won’t pay him,” Sharpe said Monday on ESPN’s First Take. Darnold has absolutely reclaimed his career in Minnesota. He’s on pace for 4,300 passing yards, 38 touchdowns, and 13 picks. Those are MVP numbers, and Darnold would be in the race if Buffalo Bills signal-caller Josh Allen didn’t have the trophy all but wrapped up. “Sam Darnold, now he’s bounced around. I get it he’s played unbelievable. I didn’t think he had this in him, but he does have Jordan Addison. He has Hockenson. He has JJettas. He has Aaron Jones. And he’s backed it up playing well. And he’s going to make a boatload of money somewhere else. I hope they bring those guys with him when he goes, but with that being said, absolutely not,” Sharpe added about the possibility of the Vikings keeping Darnold at QB1 in 2025. “You drafted J.J. McCarthy for a reason. If J.J. McCarthy hadn’t got hurt, Sam Darnold wouldn’t even see the field, so absolutely not.” It may not be this open and shut, but Sharpe is probably closer to right than he is wrong. Rumor: Sam Darnold is an MVP candidate, says former Vikings LB Ben Leber. Matt Krohn-Imagn Images. Ben Leber is in on Darnold as an MVP candidate. Leber tweeted Sunday, “Sam Darnold is leading an 11-2 team with an average passer rating of 107.3. Time to put Sam in the MVP convo.” Darnold is on pace for 4,300 passing yards, 38 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in 2024, fresh off his team’s resounding 42-21 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, a club led by Kirk Cousins, who quarterbacked the Vikings for six seasons. The award is close to a wrap for Josh Allen, but it’s sweet that Darnold is in the same conversation. Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.