Continued: QB stability tops Vikings coaching staff's priority list

Brad Childress' end-of-the-season news conference Thursday made one thing abundantly clear about the Vikings quarterback situation: There again is little certainty about a position at which five players have started since Childress took over as coach in 2006.

Four days after Tarvaris Jackson struggled in the Vikings' first-round playoff loss to Philadelphia, Childress did not completely close the door on Jackson being his starter in 2009, leaving open the strong possibility of pursuing a quarterback through the draft or free agency. He didn't mention it, but a trade also is an option.

"It's really kind of a whole offseason type of study," Childress said. "I'm not going to pass judgment right at this particular point. I think with everybody here in the organization, just like we always have, is to turn over all the rocks and see what you have there. I would also say that there's a point with Tarvaris of continuing to evolve as a quarterback, and while you'd like that process to happen immediately, it doesn't always. But there's not anything we're going to leave unturned in terms of free agency [and the] draft.

"You see who's out there, and by the same token Tarvaris is going to be here and we're going to continue to get him better."

How much longer can the Vikings stick with Jackson? Childress said meetings on such matters would take place later this month and admitted that while he already has a list of free-agent quarterbacks on his desk, "To comment on that I'd be shooting in the air."

Free agents include Kerry Collins, Jeff Garcia, Kurt Warner, J.P. Losman, Dan Orlovsky and Chris Simms. The Patriots reportedly will place a franchise tag on young standout Matt Cassel, but the Patriots could trade him if Tom Brady makes progress in his return from a knee injury.

For the second consecutive season Jackson began the year as the starter, but that didn't last long. He was benched in favor of veteran Gus Frerotte after losses to Green Bay and Indianapolis. Frerotte, signed as a free agent last spring, went 8-3 as the starter, but Jackson returned in early December after Frerotte was injured. Jackson helped the Vikings rally for a victory at Detroit and threw a career-high four touchdown passes the next week at Arizona.

This enabled Jackson to keep the job after Frerotte became healthy, but Jackson began to revert to his old ways in a victory over the Giants in the regular-season finale. He then had an interception returned for a touchdown and a subpar 45.4 passer rating in Sunday's 26-14 loss to the Eagles.

"You want consistency," Childress said. "That's the thing you're looking for."

The Vikings likely are going to need to look outside the organization to find the level of consistency they desire. Last winter, they offered Houston a third-round draft pick for backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels, who would have competed with Jackson for the starting job. The Vikings abandoned their pursuit of Rosenfels when the Texans asked for a second-round pick. The Vikings inquired about a few other quarterbacks but were unable to make any deals.

Eventually, the Vikings decided to stick with Jackson and signed Frerotte to a two-year contract to serve as a backup. But Frerotte did not hide his disappointment after Childress stayed with Jackson late in the season. Frerotte also spent the season living away from his family in St. Louis, and said he would not do that again.

Frerotte, 38 in July, had a 73.7 passer rating, placing him 28th among the 32 quarterbacks ranked on NFL.com, throwing 12 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions in 301 pass attempts. Jackson had a 95.4 rating with nine touchdowns and two interceptions in 149 regular-season attempts.

"He did" take a step forward, Childress said. "Obviously you don't look at [being benched] after two games as being a step ahead, but I thought when he came back in he was about his business and did a nice job for us, aside from some things in that last game."

That, however, is the game that will leave a lasting impression.