The praise received by General Manager Jim Finks and coach Bud Grant for turning around the Vikings in the late '60s and making the Purple into the powerhouse of the NFC for nearly a decade was never-ending and well-deserved.

This could be done with a small coaching staff, a limited scouting staff and also control of the roster thanks to the lack of significant free agency and no salary cap.

Finks feuded with co-owner/president Max Winter and left to run the Chicago Bears before the 1974 season. The foundation was such that there were two more Super Bowl appearances (making it four in eight seasons) after the 1975 and 1976 seasons.

The other team in the current 16-team NFC to not reach a Super Bowl in the past 47 seasons is Detroit. The Lions have never been there, and figure to miss again since they now can't stop opponents with a defense ravaged by injuries.

It isn't a news bulletin that putting together and keeping together an NFL team is infinitely more complicated than when we were praising the organizational skills of Finks and Grant.

We might be a moment away from all decisions being made by artificial intelligence. And when that happens, who are the fans and sportswriters (if there are any) going to aim their commentary at?

So, while there is still time, and for the first time in decades of expressing skepticism toward media and public pampering of the Vikings, this begrudging conclusion must be offered:

What the Vikings have done since the end of the 2023 season until now, with General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O'Connell as the central parts in a massive football operation, has been perfect.

Not close to that.

Perfect.

Kirk Cousins had been here as the quarterback for six seasons and with this administration for the past two. He had received $185 million, had one playoff victory and would be turning 36 during 2024 training camp. He also was rehabbing from a torn Achilles tendon.

Common sense screamed there wasn't a chance the Vikings wanted him back. Then again, the segment of the Purple fan base that had earned a title as "the Kirkies" wasn't blessed with that quality, so O'Connell strung them along with pro-Cousins quotes.

Put me in front of the reporters' tape recorders? It would have been, "Kirk? Goodbye and good riddance," but then I've gotten a bit cranky in old age.

Cousins was officially gone on March 11, signing a contract with Atlanta that carried a minimum guarantee of $100 million. Rumor had it owner Arthur Blank believed Cousins could be the missing quarterback piece to get the Falcons back to a Super Bowl.

Blank was turning 82 and you can't blame him for being haunted by his Falcons blowing a 28-3 lead in a Super Bowl played on Feb. 5, 2017, but Arthur — you should have asked your general manager, Terry Fontenot, to be more candid with his Cousins opinion.

If Fontenot had $100 million worth of faith in Cousins, why would he 45 days later use the No. 8 draft selection to take Michael Penix Jr., a quarterback?

Now the Falcons are 7-7, Penix is getting a start and Cousins was saying, "It is what it is. You roll with it."

Here in Minnesota, Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell signed Sam Darnold for $10 million. And on draft day, they took J.J. McCarthy two spots below Penix as their young quarterback of choice.

Darnold: a way better athlete and playmaker than Cousins, and way cheaper. McCarthy: knee surgery, so far unseen, but if O'Connell is convinced he has the goods, that's way better than Blank's opinion on a quarterback.

Getting out from under Cousins was the jump start toward the Vikings' perfection in making choices for this season.

Next, it was deciding not to pay the freight for Danielle Hunter, an exceptional pass rusher with an injury history. He signed a free-agent contract with Houston for $49 million, and he's making plays for the Texans.

In his stead, the Vikings have Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman and the Brian Flores Platoon making plays. The platoon is made up of guys you've never heard of who Flores, O'Connell's defensive genius, has tapped and turned loose.

And then there's Dallas Turner, the rookie from Alabama. It was when the Vikings did the 180-degree turn from Rick Spielman and decided a difference-maker is worth all the sixth- and seventh-rounders you can corral that my worldview of the Vikings started to change.

I saw maybe 50 plays for Alabama last season, and Turner was in the middle of 15 of them. Took a while to figure out NFL complexities, but Turner still will be making plays here when Danielle Hunter is enjoying a well-earned retirement.

Just as Darnold is still making plays after Cousins has been benched, and for a 10th of the guaranteed millions.

Still whining about the 2022 draft? Forget it. That was a slow start on a build to perfection. And it's been done while creating mucho salary cap space for 2025.