Retool or Rebuild for 2022?

It's like Jason in Friday the 13th.   You can't kill the Rick and Mike duo no matter how mediocre they are.  All they gotta do is *seem* like they're in contention and the purple media is ready to crown 'em with another year at the helm.   Friday the 13th part 27, here we come!

See parts 1-26 for details.

Barr and Griffen are making a combined 8 million against the cap this year and aren't under contract next season.  How are they even close to being the problem with our cap situation?

Retool and Rebuld together.. Rebuld all decision makers and coaches.. Maybe keep Janocko and McCardell .

Keep retooling and adding on offense. Tear the defense down though. Maybe keep a few vets like EK, but start changing the other things on defense. The defense is aging and needs rebuilt for the long haul.

If I'm the Wilfs, I make a call Monday morning and demand that Mond is QB2 immediately. We all know how little reps QB3s get (none). Let him be a bigger part of the process and at least get a few practice reps from here on out. If/when the Vikings are officially eliminated, let him finish the season as starter. Just as much as Cousins is going to be a hot topic, so is Mond. Why not give the new regime a bit more to go on? We know what Cousins is/isn't. Either way, at this point, having Mannion as QB2 is pointless. Great guy, smart, but offers nothing of value this season or moving forward. Harsh reality, but it's true. If Cousins goes down, what little shot we might have is gone anyway. Play Mond. And, again, if/when the hope is officially gone: play Mond.

It is interesting to think back on recent drafts and how some moves were very much forward-thinking. Maybe Spielman thought things would go a lot better? Or maybe Spielman already knew he'd be sticking around? We've all heard how chummy he is with the Wilfs, so, it wouldn't surprise me if he's safe.

I like Cousins. I think he's a good quarterback. And I know I said recently, "How can you let him go? With what we've suffered through as Vikings fans with quarterbacks, for literally decades, how can we?" Now I'm not so sure. As an article pointed out the other day: no, we aren't losing because of him, but we aren't winning because of him either. That's the problem. As the leader of the team, in the most important position, and, yes, with that contract ... that canNOT be the case.

In today's game, we needed him to show up for 60 minutes. We got half that. Seems like, more often than not, we get one good half from him. Yes, play calling, and yes, poor defensive performances at times, but also, plenty of shortcomings from him too, in the context of the game, despite what the final stats oftentimes show.

And, from today, isn't he making more than those 11 starters on defense combined? I'm only half kidding. But you get my point: Yes, Cousins has great stats, and he's a great guy, but he's rarely a great player for 60 minutes, sometimes not even for 30. With the deficiencies on defense, he absolutely needs to be that guy. He's unfortunately not; and never will be. So any kind of retool/rebuild probably shouldn't involve him longer than a season. If we're gonna hover around 8 wins, I'd rather take our chances with a younger QB. At least then we can convince ourselves this gets better. Cousins doesn't offer that luxury.

I agree with both above statements. If we are rebuilding and losing under a new regime there is the enjoyment of hopefully watching it come together. Like we were doing in 2015. It did seem this regime had promise then. Since 2016 on its felt more like chasing success then building lasting sustainability. 2018 we went all in and have been future be damned it feels like now.
Mike is the easiest fall guy today. Rick staying won't really change the chase success mentally though because he may think his head is next. Will he be given the luxury of totally rebuilding for sustainability or will he still feel the desperation of win now at future cost?