When the Torch Gets Passed

Even Alphas Must Submit to Father Time

I’ve always liked Kirk Cousins, the former Minnesota QB, even though I was pleased to see the Vikings move on from him in order to pay Justin Jefferson and keep Harrison Smith going into the 2024 NFL season. He’s an Alpha who very well knows his worth, and has battled hard to reach the pinnacle of his profession against the expectations of most of the experts.

But age and injuries spare no man. And it’s both inspiring and informative to see how well a proud and highly competitive athlete handles a difficult situation that many an aging Alpha completely fails to address, which is the succession challenge.

In September, it was clear Kirk Cousins was struggling to drive the ball down the field, an issue common with older quarterbacks coming off Achilles injuries to the plant foot. In October, that started to resolve itself. Then, in November, in a game against the New Orleans Saints, Cousins nicked his throwing shoulder and elbow, and it became more of a challenge to game plan and call plays around his limitations.

Things came to a head the first three weeks of December, with Cousins throwing for one touchdown against seven picks—and clearly losing confidence, as evidenced in how he’d hold the ball and hesitate to pull the trigger in a way he hadn’t before.“The decision had to be made just based off of pure football performance,” Morris says. “We weren’t playing well enough. At the same time, I was also thankful to him for putting us in position to be where we’re at right now, to be competitive, to be in a playoff race. This guy got us up to 6–3, really got us going, and for whatever reason couldn’t keep up that play that he had at the beginning of the season. I had to make the change.”

To the credit of both Cousins and Penix, the way the two have handled it has eased the awkwardness of making such a call. Morris told Cousins of his decision, and that it really wasn’t all the quarterback’s fault. Cousins, according to Morris, responded by telling his coach he planned on “being the best backup in the National Football League.”

From there, Cousins went to support Penix, who genuinely looks up to the old veteran. “For those guys to be able to go out there and work together, even through [Cousins’s] tough time this week, I thought it was outstanding,” Morris says, “all the way up until right before the game praying together.”

When one contrasts the gracious and selfless behavior of Cousins with the suboptimal way in which great QBs like Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady have faced the same inevitable challenge, it is a reminder that the wise path is seldom the one that is most comfortable for our egos.

The old Alpha and the new one pray together before the new Alpha’s first game.

Enjoy your glory days. Make the most of them, by all means. But also understand that they will come to an end, and in most cases, a little sooner than you are likely ready for. And the best thing you can do to put a capstone on them, the best way for you to leave a memorable legacy behind you, is to ensure that your successor is ready to take over for you in a manner that maximizes his chances of success.

Whether you’re in sports or business or life, the examples set by the Alphas matter. They matter tremendously. Consider the words of one player about another young and ascending Alpha.

"He's so poised. No matter if we're making plays or if we're missing plays, he just has a way to stay even-keeled… I told him in the locker room I just love playing with a guy like that. I'm just extremely grateful for a guy like that to be on our team."