Could the Buffalo Bills Be A Glimpse Into the Vikings’ Coaching Future?

Vikings Could the Buffalo Bills Be A Glimpse Into the Vikings' Coaching Future? Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images By Nelson Thielen - November 9, 2026 I’ve always felt like there’s been a sort of kinship between Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills fans. The two franchises feel like they’re cross-conference mirror images of each other. Both are keenly aware of the pain of four Super Bowl losses without a victory, even more painful in Buffalo’s case with the four coming in consecutive years. They understand the resentment and frustration of seeing division rivals win their own Super Bowls with infuriatingly dominant quarterback play ( Favre / Rodgers vs. Brady ), and they’ve each been dealt their own tragic playoff losses, like the Pat Mahomes “ 13 seconds ” game or the Blair Walsh fiasco . I’ve heard many Vikings fans say their ideal Super Bowl is Vikings vs. Bills, because it means at least one of these two tortured fanbases would break their curse that night. As Minnesota gets ready to face off against the Bills on Monday night, another parallel between these two franchises comes to mind. The scenario that played out with the Bills coaching staff this past offseason could be on the horizon for the Vikings and head coach Kevin O’Connell. By all accounts, Sean McDermott was an incredibly successful head coach for Buffalo. During his nine years in upstate New York, the Bills finished with fewer than 10 wins only in his first two seasons. He has an 8-8 playoff record and multiple appearances in the AFC Championship Game. His defenses in Buffalo were incredibly successful for most of his tenure. Under his watch, the Bills drafted and developed Josh Allen from a toolsy project on draft night into a top-three quarterback. (And, for my money, he isn’t No. 2 or No. 3.) Yet, Buffalo reached a crossroads. They felt like they’d stagnated, and the anxiety around the franchise’s trajectory was only amplified by the Super Bowl window they clearly had with Josh Allen at quarterback. So, after a topsy-turvy season in 2024 and an AFC divisional-round loss, where Buffalo seemed to underachieve because of a few coaching mishaps and personnel deficiencies, Bills ownership decided to move on from McDermott. But lots of coaches get fired, even the successful ones like McDermott, if things get stale. The intriguing parallel is his replacement. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady. The Bills brass clearly felt like they had a problem that needed correcting. This team was good, in some elements very good, and on the cusp of being a Super Bowl winner. And yet some end-of-game decisions, and some locker-room culture weirdness (which apparently involved 9/11 somehow ?), led them to believe McDermott wasn’t going to be the guy to raise a Lombardi trophy in Buffalo. Meanwhile, they wanted to double down on Josh Allen, the team’s most successful element. So a power struggle played itself out. General manager Brandon Beane survived the struggle and secured a promotion to president of football operations, and then elevated Joe Brady as Buffalo’s head coach. It was a Game of Thrones -esque power struggle. Still, plenty of Bills fans felt it was the only way to move on from McDermott without blowing up the entire operation. We’re only seven games into the Joe Brady-era, but with a 6-1 record and the NFL’s top-scoring offense, there’s plenty of reason for optimism. The Vikings are also 6-1, but the vibes are much worse than the record would indicate. The tide has turned hard against head coach Kevin O’Connell, as people mock his “QB whisperer” reputation more every day. It’s been a long time since QBs were whispered to, shouted at, or anything in between, and it produced an effective passing game in Minnesota. That problem reared its ugly head again when the Detroit Lions’ 31st-ranked defense held them to only 15 points last Sunday. The offense is broken . It’s non-functional. And given the talent and resources poured into it, it’s unacceptable that it can keep going like this. Meanwhile, the defense continues to kick ass to unprecedented levels. Even on Sunday, when Jahmyr Gibbs broke tackles against the worn-down Vikings defense, the defense shouldn’t be overlooked. They held the league’s best offense to just 19 points. It’s up to your offensive guru head coach to secure a win in those circumstances, especially when the challenge he had to face — that punchless Lions defense — is that bad. What Brian Flores is doing for the third year in a row in Minnesota is remarkable. His defense is extraordinary and Super Bowl caliber if paired with a functional offense. If the offense lived up to its talent level, this team would be a juggernaut. It begs the question: Could the Vikings pull a similar maneuver this offseason as the ‘26 Bills? New Vikings GM Nolan Teasley may not need to save his job through a power struggle, since he’s only held the position for a few months. Could he bend the Wilfs’ ears and identify O’Connell’s offensive failures as untenable? Could Brian Flores be the “Joe Brady” in Minnesota, capitalizing on the side of the ball that’s truly exceptional while axing the head coach who’s failing in his duties? If you find yourself envious of the Bills operation on Monday night, and the fact that they seem to be moving forward with renewed vision behind their elevated head coach, take heart: It may not be long before the Vikings mirror their AFC counterparts in more ways than Super Bowl heartbreaks. Nelson Thielen Nelson Thielen is a Vikings fan from Orlando who started following the team when they drafted Florida State legend Christian Ponder. He is not related to Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen. 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