JJ McCarthy’s personal quarterback coach got himself in hot water this week by starting a spat with a Minnesota Vikings legend.
Greg Holcomb, who has long worked with McCarthy, sparked the issue by calling out legendary Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter. Carter made a negative comment about McCarthy’s play on X after FS1 analyst Emmanuel Acho praised McCarthy for having the “clutch gene.”
Did you watch the first 59 mins ? 👎🏾 https://t.co/vziZ8y2BQN
— Cris Carter (@criscarter80) November 17, 2025
Holcomb responded on X by calling Carter a “f’kn clown” in a since-deleted post.
Greg Holcomb, #Vikings QB JJ McCarthy’s personal QB coach since 7th grade, calls Cris Carter a “F’ckn clown 🤡” after his criticism towards McCarthy’s play on Sunday.
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) November 18, 2025
(H/T: @jasrifootball) pic.twitter.com/xj7BESi1bu
Holcomb later posted a letter of apology to both Carter and the Vikings in which he admitted his reaction had been “unprofessional” and “disrespectful.” That letter was also deleted, with Holcomb claiming the Vikings had asked him to remove it.
I was asked to remove the letter from social media, but that does not diminish from my apology to Cris Carter & the Vikings fanbase.
— Greg Holcomb (@QBCoachHolc) November 19, 2025
Holcomb more or less created this drama all by himself, which the Vikings were unquestionably frustrated with.
Realistically, Holcomb may not like the remarks, but McCarthy’s play has opened the quarterback up to criticism. McCarthy has completed just 52.9 percent of his passes on the season and has thrown eight interceptions to six touchdowns. Things are bad enough that coach Kevin O’Connell seems lukewarm on the second-year quarterback right now.
