While it is expected that the Vikings, Bears, Lions and Packers will remain in the same division, that division will likely be called the NFC North in 2002, when the league welcomes its 32nd team, the Houston Texans, and realigns.

Although it won’t be official until later this week, the Vikings will be staying in the NFC Central. The Vikings, along with Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago will remain in what used to be the NFC Central back in the days of four-team divisions.
Every division will lose at least one team and, with the current plan to have expansion Houston join the AFC in 2002, one AFC team (either Seattle or San Diego) flipping conferences. In the case of the NFC Central, Tampa Bay is the obvious choice and will join a newly created NFC South.

The alignment will take away some of the old rivalries, like taking the Cardinals out of the NFC East and the Colts out of the AFC East. In fact, in the short term, the new AFC South could have three of the league’s top teams thrown together, with Indianapolis, Tennessee and Jacksonville all supplanted into the new division.

For the Vikings, this can be seen as good news. With Brett Favre getting older and the Lions and Bears always seeming to struggle, getting rid of Tampa Bay should have a short-term benefit for the Vikings’ chances of remaining a division champion. With the Bucs expected to be strong for years to come, no longer having them in the NFC Central could be a selling point for the Vikings trying to lure free agents to come in, since the chances of getting into the playoffs and making a run for the Super Bowl are enhanced if a team is a division champion — or perceived as one by potential free agents.

Under the new schedule, teams with the play two games each vs. the other three teams in their division, four games each vs. one division from each conference and the remaining two games vs. conference teams from the divisions not on the schedule that finished with the same position the previous year. For example, if the Vikings win the NFC Central this year, they would play the first place team in the two other NFC divisions in 2002.