6 most disappointing Vikings moves of the 2022 offseason

2. Not hiring Jim Harbaugh

After the Vikings fired Mike Zimmer back in January, almost no one thought that Jim Harbaugh was going to be in the running to be the team’s new head coach. But that’s exactly what happened.

Harbaugh was ready to leave behind his head-coaching job at Michigan to return to the NFL and take Zimmer’s old gig. The problem was that Minnesota wasn’t completely on board.

Harbaugh and the Vikings met for an interview and it didn’t result in him becoming the team’s new head coach. Instead, he had to make the walk of shame back to Michigan and pretend like he was the one who turned down Minnesota.

What makes this decision disappointing is what we now know about what the Vikings’ goals are for the 2022 season. Minnesota wants to remain competitive this year and fight for a spot in the playoffs.

Instead of hiring someone in Harbaugh, who took a 6-10 San Francisco 49ers team and led them to 13 wins during his first season with the franchise in 2011, the Vikings decided to take a chance on a rookie head coach that might be able to get the team back to the playoffs in 2022.

Minnesota’s owners want the team to remain in the hunt for a championship next season and hiring Harbaugh would have given them a better chance to accomplish that within the next few years.

O’Connell has the potential to eventually lead the Vikings to a win in the Super Bowl. But it’s likely going to take Minnesota longer to accomplish this goal with their current head coach than if they would have hired Harbaugh.