One thing Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell deserves a lot of credit for is building quite the coaching staff.
Not often do Vikings fans see high turnover within the organization at the coaching level, as most guys end up sticking around.
An interesting name that has been slowly creating buzz around the league is quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Josh McCown. The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue recently listed him as a breakout candidate for the 2026 season on the Vikings' staff.
"McCown is another assistant coach who drew some buzz at the league meetings, and there will be a lot of scrutiny on him this season with veteran free-agent addition Kyler Murray now on the roster alongside third-year quarterback JJ McCarthy.
That could easily shift to interest, and then excitement, should Murray play as well as many are expecting him to under McCown, coach Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips.
A league source also noted the addition by O’Connell of former Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith as the assistant head coach — pointing to a possible internal effort to overhaul and improve Minnesota’s run game."
Minnesota Vikings QB coach Josh McCown has chance to land bigger job after 2026 season
There have been teams interested in McCown's potential to be a head coach in the past. He has interviewed with the Houston Texans and the New York Jets.
This season could be the one that can get McCown to either be a legitimate head coach candidate or find an offensive coordinator job. He has a massive task: either getting Kyler Murray to return to Pro Bowl form or saving J.J. McCarthy's career.
Not much blame has been put on McCown for McCarthy's struggles last season, with more of it going to former Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for selecting him.
The silver lining was that Minnesota still finished with a 9-8 record, and McCarthy showed good progress in his final four starts of the season.
McCown has proven himself to be a good quarterbacks coach over the last two seasons. His work with Sam Darnold in 2024 helped resurrect his NFL career, leading to Darnold signing with the Seattle Seahawks last offseason and winning the Super Bowl with them.
While most of the people in the Vikings building have a lot of pressure on them to succeed, McCown should put it on himself, as this could have a significant impact on his coaching future.
A great season from Murray or McCarthy, and he instantly becomes a hot name in the coaching cycle in the offseason.
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