If the pattern of Kevin O'Connell's tenure as head coach holds, 2026 is set to be a nice year for the Minnesota Vikings. In the even-numbered years, 2022 and 2024, they have won at least 13 games with a combined record of 27-7. In odd-numbered years, they are a combined 16-18.
The NFC North is set to be the best division top-to-bottom in the NFL this year. All four teams can make a credible case for winning the division, and the last-place team, as happened last year, could finish above .500.
Of course, now that the Chicago Bears have one, each team is led by a capable head coach. Ranking that foursome can be done in any order, and it would look credible. Of course, O'Connell stands alone among them as a Coach of the Year winner right now, but that has a chance to change this year.
Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell gets disrespected in ranking of NFC North head coaches
On any list that ranks things or people, something or someone has to be last.
Freddie Boston of Lombardi Ave has ranked the NFC North head coaches as the 2026 season approaches, with Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur (of course) No. 1. O'Connell came in fourth because someone had to.
"Someone had to go in the No. 4 spot, which is unfair on Kevin O'Connell, who is a fantastic coach", Boston wrote.
To be entirely fair, O'Connell is the only NFC North head coach without a playoff win. That's one of the big reasons, along with the aforementioned inconsistency, for him to be ranked fourth among his division peers.
"So, what's holding O'Connell back?", Boston wrote.
"For starters, it's the inconsistency. In 2022 and 2024, the Vikings went a combined 27-7 and won two NFC North titles. But in 2023 and 2025 combined, they went 16-18 with no playoff appearances."
Boston's argument for LaFleur at No. 1 is rooted in having more regular-season wins and more division titles.
But when you've been on the job at least two seasons longer than anyone else, the accumulation of success will happen. LaFleur also didn't take on a complete rebuild like Dan Campbell did in Detroit. He also wasn't tasked with a significant reset like Ben Johnson was in Chicago. And he definitely hasn't been smacked by quarterback injuries as O'Connell has been in the down years.
Campbell and Johnson have also won a playoff game more recently than LaFleur has (just barely in Campbell's case, with a Divisional Round win in the 2023 postseason as the Packers lost in the same round that year). O'Connell has, as Campbell and Johnson have, won a division title more recently than LaFleur has.
The stakes are high for O'Connell this season. He needs to coax good play out of whoever the Vikings' quarterback is, with non-J.J. McCarthy as a first-year starter; history suggests he will. A playoff win feels like a prerequisite to cool any idea about his job possibly being in jeopardy after the season.
What O'Connell is not is the fourth-best head coach in the NFC North. If anything, in a "what have you done for me lately?" sense, there's a better case for the anointed No. 1 on this green-and-gold-shaded list to occupy that spot.
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