Inside the Vikings' offseason bonding barbecue that’s paying dividends in December

Fine-grain sea salt, just the right amount. A little pepper. Rub both into the meat.

Then grill it hot and fast. Don’t leave it on too long. Let it rest when you pull it from the heat.

That’s the simple ribeye recipe that Johnny Mundt’s dad taught him, the one that won a Vikings offseason barbecue competition judged by coach Kevin O’Connell, his coordinators and vice president of player health and performance Tyler Williams.

One judge’s review? “It was the most simple — I mean, it was fantastic,” O’Connell said Thursday. “It wasn’t overdone. He cooked it perfect.”

That was the offseason. Since then the Vikings are 12-2. Maybe there’s a recipe that explains that.

The barbecue showdown was one of several events O’Connell, a leading contender for Coach of the Year, organized in the offseason to help his players get to know each other and bond, quarterback Sam Darnold said Wednesday.

The Vikings have 25 newcomers on their active roster, including Darnold and several others among the team’s biggest playmakers.

Another seven players are only in their second season with Minnesota. Only 10 were on the Vikings roster before O’Connell was named head coach in 2022.

“[O’Connell] brings us together as a family,” said running back Aaron Jones, who was acquired via free agency this year. “This is probably the closest team I’ve ever been a part of, and this is my first year here, as it is for many of these other guys. … K.O. [O’Connell], he really challenges us, but he knows how to bring us together.”

The cookoff took place just after Memorial Day. Eleven grills were set up for players to use.

Each position group prepared a different dish or dishes, ranging from Mundt’s prize-winning ribeye for the tight ends to wings to tacos.

Some groups designated one cook. Others spread around the work.

Mundt, in his third year with the Vikings, was nominated by his fellow tight ends because he’d hosted them for dinners before, and because none of them had a particular interest in taking the lead.

Justin Jefferson said the young wide receivers room leaned heavily on their coach, Keenan McCardell, but O’Connell alleged that one of the wide receivers' significant others did the cooking beforehand and sent them with food prepared.

Fullback C.J. Ham, who’s been with the Vikings nine seasons, grilled up marinated filets for the running back room.

Nick Mullens represented the quarterbacks. He grilled wings. They weren’t winners, O’Connell said, because of the use of sauces from “some very noteworthy local establishments.” Judge O’Connell favored Mundt’s ribeye because the flavor was all his doing.

And the No. 1 quarterback?

“I didn’t help whatsoever,” Darnold said with a smile. “I definitely was tasting some of the wings and helping him with that.”

Safeties Josh Metellus and Camryn Bynum took the lead for the defensive backs, and that’s where controversy emerged.

Metellus, who said he got into cooking in the past couple of years, made family-recipe bourbon peach and fire-roasted jalapeño wings. Bynum was in charge of steaks. The only problem was that the steaks weren’t purchased for the defensive backs. They were supposed to be for the outside linebackers, Metellus said.

The defensive backs were disqualified.

“They thought it was just locked and loaded that they were gonna win,” O’Connell said.

Metellus and fellow veteran T.J. Hockenson see the bonds made that day continuing to pay off.

“It shows up on the field,” Hockenson said Thursday. “When you know a guy, and you’re able to hang out with him, and you’re able to joke with him and you’re friends, it’s a lot easier to go up to somebody and have a conversation about what they want on a route.”

Hockenson pointed out that the wide age range in the NFL can make it hard for players to relate to each other. He spent his rookie year on a vet-heavy Lions roster.

He’s never seen a problem connecting in the Vikings locker room. He pointed to O’Connell and General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s ability to pinpoint personalities who will mesh well in the locker room.

“The team camaraderie we have, we know everybody,” Hockenson said. “We love everybody. We all hang out. It’s just everybody’s a melting pot in this locker room, and that’s the best way to build a team.”

Said Metellus: “One of the things that’s getting us through this schedule, getting us through this month of December is our connectivity, our trust in one another. It’s all doing stuff like that.”

Mundt gave O’Connell a hard time when no prize was presented at first, so O’Connell made sure to get him one: a gold, WWE-style belt bearing the phrase “BBQ Competition Champion.”

“It’s going up in the man cave at some point for sure,” Mundt said.