Examining how Kevin O’Connell earned his way to Minnesota

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The Minnesota Vikings got themselves something special in first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell. He is a creative genius because of his experience and time spent in the NFL around many great offensive minds. His mind is why the Vikings are a dark-horse Super Bowl contender. But what specifically about his experience and overall team vision made the Wilf family and new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah come to the realization that they wanted O’Connell to be their guy?

O’Connell was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft out of San Diego State. He spent part of that preseason playing under head coach Bill Belichick before getting released. He then bounced around to the Lions before getting traded to Rex Ryan’s Jets in 2009. He was later released and claimed by the Miami Dolphins in 2011. After Miami released him, the Jets picked him back up. His playing career ended with head coach Norv Turner and the San Diego Chargers in 2012. Throughout his career, he was a backup and journeyman, finishing with four total completions on six attempts for 23 yards. 

The magic really started for O’Connell when he got into coaching in 2015 when he became the QB coach of the Cleveland Browns. He later moved to the San Francisco 49ers as an offensive assistant under head coach Chip Kelly in 2016. In 2017, he had a breakthrough moment when he became the QB coach for Washington and was later elevated to the role of offensive coordinator in 2019. This stint in Washington was where he became good friends with his current starting QB in Kirk Cousins. He coached in that same role under Sean McVay from 2020 to 2021. 

O’Connell gained a lot of knowledge from spending time around coaches who had a unique style. Belichick is the greatest of all time, especially defensively. Ryan is one of the better defensive minds of this era. Turner has been coaching offense for more than four decades at both the college and professional level. Kelly and Jay Gruden are a couple of other unique offensive minds who want to play fast and balanced. Coaching under McVay with the Super Bowl champion L.A. Rams brought winning experience and time with an incredibly successful organization.

O’Connell’s overall team vision is based around everything he has learned from his almost 15 years in the league. With Minnesota, he has a balanced offense and talented defense. With everything he has learned from the likes of unique offensive minds in McVay and Turner to great defensive minds in Belichick and Ryan, the Vikings are excited about what they think the Tennessee native can do with this franchise that is still searching for its first Super Bowl.       





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