2nd Place in the NFC North
Minnesota Vikings
- Final Record: 11-6 (4-2 in NFC North)
A change was needed for the Vikings this year, no one has argued against that. Mike Zimmer helped Minnesota get out of the gutter when he was hired in 2014, but his coaching style became outdated, and he could no longer get through to his players with his tactics.
So in comes Kevin O’Connell, a 37-year-old former NFL quarterback from southern California who spent the previous two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. O’Connell has the Vikings players giddy about what they can do this year, especially those who make a living on the offensive side of the ball.
The key for Minnesota’s new head coach will be what he’s able to do with quarterback Kirk Cousins. Is Cousins just going to continue to put up impressive stats that don’t lead to a ton of success or will O’Connell find a way to utilize the skill-set of the Vikings quarterback in a way that will earn the team more victories in 2022?
The relationship between the two is already lightyears better than whatever sort of relationship Cousins and Zimmer had. Will this lead to more wins for the Vikings this season? Minnesota certainly hopes so.