The NFL held its annual awards show on Thursday night, where the most prestigious recognitions are announced. At the NFL Honors event, there were a few Minnesota Vikings who were up for an award during the televised event.
Here are the Vikings who were finalists for an award at NFL Honors:
-Sam Darnold - Comeback Player of the Year
-Kevin O'Connell - Coach of the Year
-C.J. Ham - Walter Payton Man of the Year (team finalist)
Of the three finalists for the purple and gold, one nominee won their category. Although a 14-3 season is awe-inspiring, individual accomplishments and end-of-season awards are an interesting part of the NFL.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell named AP Coach of the Year
The Associated Press named Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell the Coach of the Year Thursday night at the NFL Honors event, beating out several other fantastic candidates for the top honor.
Coach of the Year looks great on you. pic.twitter.com/PDFmBQv8oL
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) February 7, 2025
O'Connell beat out Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions, Dan Quinn of the Washington Commanders, Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos to be named the Coach of the Year.
USA Today reports that Kevin O'Connell received 25 first-place votes while Campbell had 19, Reid had four, and Payton and Quinn each received one. That means the Vikings' head coach received half of the first place votes.
There are excellent arguments for each of the other nominees in the category, but it is hard to overlook what Kevin O'Connell was able to accomplish during a year when Minnesota didn't have high expectations and the team was able to do with Sam Darnold at quarterback.
"I didn't as much talk about preseason kind of predictions and how I use that to motivate the team. It really wasn't about that. It was more about my just belief in our organization, in my belief in our coaches and our players to come together and just try to win one football game, and that was in the opener. Then it was about trying to win the next one."Kevin O'Connell at NFL Honors
in each postgame video shared on YouTube, Kevin O'Connell always reminded his team to take things one week at a time and focus on doing what needs to be done to get the next win while not trying to fall into any of the rumblings in the media.
Congratulations to Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell on winning the Associated Press Coach of the Year award. Let's hope his fourth season with the purple and gold is just as special as 2024 was.