The quarterback situation for the Minnesota Vikings has taken years off everyone’s life.
But while J.J. McCarthy’s stock took a hit, Kevin O’Connell didn’t come out unscathed.
One year after he won the NFL’s Coach of the Year Award and helped Sam Darnold revitalize his career in Minnesota, many believed that O’Connell could turn a broomstick into an effective NFL quarterback.
But after last year’s 9-8 campaign that began with a 4-8 start, many have pointed their crosshairs at O’Connell, including The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia, who believes Brian Flores has been the real reason for his success.
“There's a chance that O’Connell has gotten too much credit, and Flores too little.
If we’re talking just offensive acumen, look at where the Vikings have ranked over the past four seasons.
O’Connell has coached a few mediocre offenses and one terrible offense.
Look at it this way: If your favorite offensive coach – Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Sean Payton, whoever – had the Vikings’ group of talent on offense, would they be able to produce a top 10-to-12 offense?”
For those who watched McCarthy get waterboarded by O’Connell’s offense last season, those concerns may be valid.
And for those who saw Flores’s defense carry the team since his arrival in 2023, they may wonder if O’Connell is more than just viral postgame speeches.
But this season gives O’Connell a chance at redemption, and he may have everything he needs to get his reputation back.
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Going back to last season, there are several things that O’Connell can point to that were out of his control.
While McCarthy struggled as a starter, O’Connell was also trying to elevate several poor draft classes under Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and a roster that contained multiple former undrafted free agents.
With things falling apart around him, O’Connell also had to keep several players like Justin Jefferson from checking out and was able to get the team to finish the year with a five-game winning streak.
The credibility of that streak can be questioned, as they played several teams who were already eliminated from playoff contention, on the verge of being eliminated, or a Green Bay Packers team that was resting several key players in preparation for the playoffs.
But the process afterwards can not be questioned as O’Connell moved to fix everything that wasn’t tied to him.
Adofo-Mensah’s firing in January was the first step of the process, and a few weeks later, the Vikings signed Kyler Murray to be their starting quarterback.
Interim general manager Rob Brzezinski got the credit for running the draft, but he took heavy input from O’Connell and Flores to produce this year’s class.
The Wilf family then had O’Connell sit in on interviews during the process to replace Adofo-Mensah.
As a result, Nolan Teasley was hired, and the head coach and general manager have been in lockstep throughout their first few months together.
With the possibility that McCarthy is traded in the coming weeks, things are coming together for O’Connell. And it may be the perfect storm for a rebound year.
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Battling in the NFC North isn’t going to be easy, but a lot of O’Connell’s changes should set him up for success.
The Vikings’ offensive line, which was battered all season long, is also healthy, and improvements in the running game could give him the type of explosive plays on the ground that have been lacking over his first four seasons.
Working with a veteran quarterback like Murray is also a massive benefit as O’Connell has gotten the most out of established players like Kirk Cousins and Darnold throughout his career.
While Kapadia also mentioned that the Vikings may be a defensive team despite O’Connell’s offensive reputation, it’s also not a bad thing.
Andy Reid is an offensive mind that has had plenty of success with the Kansas City Chiefs but he has an elite defensive coach in Steve Spagnuolo.
McVay is the top offensive mind in the game, but the Los Angeles Rams defense is now backed by Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald.
Kyle Shanahan’s defense has been a perennial top-10 unit since he arrived in 2017, and Sean Payton enjoyed the NFL’s No. 3 defense in points allowed in each of the past two seasons while ranking second in yards allowed last year.
With that, O’Connell has a lot of the things he needs to succeed. The evil general manager in the front office is gone.
The “kid” that reportedly questioned his coaching may be gone soon.
He has a veteran as his starting quarterback, a team that’s healthier and with less baggage than it had one year ago, and a defense that should help them at least establish a nine-win floor.
If O’Connell gets Murray to play well and leads the Vikings to 10 wins and a playoff victory, it could be enough to reclaim the “quarterback whisperer” reputation he earned a few years ago.
And it may be enough to silence the critics like Kapadia who believe he’s riding on the coattails of others’ success.
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