Nearly a month after the Minnesota Vikings fired head coach Mike Zimmer, the team appears to have decided on Zimmer’s replacement to lead the Vikings on the sidelines in 2022.
With four candidates reported as finalists for Minnesota’s head coaching vacancy — Jim Harbaugh, Kevin O’Connell, Raheem Morris and Patrick Graham — that list was narrowed down to one. After Harbaugh’s second interview with the Vikings on Wednesday, reports followed that interview stating Minnesota is planning to hire O’Connell, currently offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams, as the organization’s 10th head coach. An official announcement and agreement will have to wait until after the Super Bowl, with O’Connell and the Rams readying to play the Cincinnati Bengals in the Big Game on Feb. 13.
The #Vikings met with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh for 9 hours today, but the team didn’t make an offer, per source.
So Harbaugh returns to Ann Arbor and Kevin O’Connell — soon — is expected to head to Minnesota.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 3, 2022
Although he’s a coach many aren’t that familiar with, O’Connell is a bright football mind that could bring in a breath of fresh air into the Vikings organization to pair alongside newly-hired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. And the young first-time head coach is a great fit for Minnesota and might be the next best thing at head coach with the Vikings.
Kevin O’Connell a Great Fit To Take Over as Vikings Head Coach
Young Coach With Potential
O’Connell hasn’t been in the NFL for a terribly long time, at least as a coach. The 36-year-old played in the league from 2008-2012, before jumping into the coaching ranks in 2015 as quarterbacks coach with the Cleveland Browns. After spending the 2016 season with Adofo-Mensah and the San Fransisco 49ers working on special projects, he worked with the Washington Commanders as quarterbacks coach, passing coordinator and offensive coordinator from 2017-19, later taking on his current role as offensive coordinator with the Rams in 2020.
The intriguing thing about O’Connell taking over in Minnesota is that he will be able to grow along with Adofo-Mensah in leading a new vision for the franchise. Just four years younger than the 40-year-old Adofo-Mensah, O’Connell will likely be taking over the reigns with the Vikings for at least the next few years and perhaps even longer depending on production and performance of the team.
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O’Connell is an individual who doesn’t have any head coaching experience to this point, but he is a well-respected coach who has been credited with leading the Rams offense into becoming a dominant unit now making a Super Bowl appearance. Even with no experience at head coach to this point in his career, O’Connell could very well be the latest example of a young coach that could take over the league, similar to what Sean McVay has been to the Rams the last few years.
Minnesota is taking a shot at the potential of O’Connell as head coach, but it could end up being a risk work taking if he is able to properly lead the Vikings to success and ultimately back to the playoffs in 2022 and beyond.
Offensive Mind
Outside of O’Connell’s youth and potential he possesses, he is also an impressive offensive mind which has started to become the wave of the present and future in the NFL with head coaches. Just a few years ago, defensive-minded coaches were the hot commodity in the league, but that has shifted back to the offensive side of the ball as of late. O’Connell is a prime candidate to fill that type of role, which will be a breath of fresh air in Minnesota.
There’s no question the Vikings need to fix some things on the defensive end of the field, something that will be an area of focus this off-season. But Minnesota also features one of the most talented offenses in the NFL, although that unit has underperformed to some extent over the last two years. O’Connell will have to work on trying to get the most out of that offensive unit while helping it continue to be one of the more dominant groups in the league under his leadership.
The good news for Minnesota is that O’Connell has experience dealing with a team and offense that has the capability of becoming a high-scoring group and one that can balance running the ball and airing it out. The Rams and Vikings hold similar styles of players on the offensive end of things, meaning O’Connell will likely have a plan and vision for how to lead this Vikings squad similar to how he did in Los Angeles to this point.
The offensive mind will be a welcomed addition to Minnesota, rather than strictly focusing on defense like what has been the case the last handful of seasons. O’Connell should be able to help this team finally open things up and put some points on the scoreboard, bringing in a different perspective and scheme than what we’ve seen in years past.
Although O’Connell is a name not many people are familiar with or know much about, he could end up being the latest example of a young impressive coach that takes over the league while serving as leader of the Vikings. And one thing is for certain in that he is a great fit to take over as head coach in Minnesota for the 2022 season and beyond.
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