Heading into last season, not many expected the Minnesota Vikings to be very good. Of course, they completely defied those dismal predictions, going 14-3 in the regular season with four total losses (counting the playoffs) to two teams (the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams).
The NFL Coach of the Year award typically goes to the coach whose team exceeded expectations the most. So, it was not surprising when Kevin O'Connell won 2024 AP NFL Coach of the Year, as well as the 2024 Head Coach of the Year from the Pro Football Writers Association.
With J.J. McCarthy taking over as the Vikings' starting quarterback, after a preseason knee injury sidelined him for his rookie season, O'Connell's coaching acumen will again be tested in 2025. There's arguably no better quarterback whisperer in the league, including offering encouraging words to opposing quarterbacks who are facing adversity.
If Minnesota wins a lot of games in 2025, O'Connell will be lined up as a top candidate for Coach of the Year again.
Early 2025 Coach of the Year odds beg Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell to defy history
FanDuel Sportsbook is out with some early, post-draft, NFL Coach of the Year odds for 2025. O'Connell has the second-lowest odds to win the award, in a six-way tie at +5000 with Dan Quinn (Washington Commanders), Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals), Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills), Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns), and Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
Only Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs), Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles), and John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens) have longer odds than O'Connell to win Coach of the Year right now.
There have been a lot of multi-time winners in the history of the AP NFL Coach of the Year award (since 1957). But there has been a back-to-back winner just three times, and on one of those occasions the award was shared in the first year (Don Shula in 1967, who then won it by himself in 1968). Allie Sherman (1961, 1962) and Joe Gibbs (1982, 1983) are the other back-to-back Coach of the Year winners.
The odds, literal or metaphorical, are firmly against O'Connell winning Coach of the Year in back-to-back years. But if McCarthy plays well and the Vikings are at or near the top of the NFC North again, it will be impossible for voters to shrug off O'Connell's candidacy in deference to someone else being more deserving.