After the Minnesota Wild advanced to the second round of the 2026 NHL Playoffs on Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings now have the biggest postseason draught among the teams located in the Twin Cities from the four major sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL).
The last time the Vikings advanced past the opening round of the playoffs was back during the 2019 season when they upset the heavily-favored New Orleans Saints on the road.
Since then, the MLB's Minnesota Twins made it to the American League Divisional Round (in 2023), the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves have won five playoff series, and most recently, the Wild advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs.
Is it playoffs or bust for Kevin O'Connell and the Minnesota Vikings in 2026?
During the 2024 season, the Vikings found a way to win a total of 14 games, so, understandably, the expectations were set pretty high heading into the 2025 campaign.
Well, Minnesota not only fell short of those expectations last season, but they also walked off the field in their final game of the 2025 campaign without a spot in the playoffs.
It was a disappointing season for the Vikings, to say the least, and heading into his fifth year as the team's head coach, Kevin O'Connell still hasn't been able to lead Minnesota to a playoff victory.
The Vikings have made two appearances in the postseason during O'Connell's tenure, but both resulted in losses.
Minnesota suffered an unexpected loss inside U.S. Bank Stadium to the New York Giants in the 2022 playoffs, and then the Los Angeles Rams didn't have any trouble defeating the Vikings in the 2024 postseason.
So what if Minnesota ends another campaign without a playoff win? Would it result in the Vikings showing O'Connell the door, or would he just enter the 2027 season with a seat that is one spark away from catching fire?
It will certainly depend on how things go in 2026, but if the Vikings fail to win at least one playoff game next season, there will be plenty of people within the fanbase who will want the team to make a head-coaching change in 2027.
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