A few days after the conclusion of the Super Bowl, the Minnesota Vikings stole away a key piece to the Los Angeles Rams success when they officially hired Kevin O’Connell as the organization’s 10th head coach.
The 36-year-old O’Connell, who has been the offensive coordinator for the Rams the last two seasons, was announced as the new leader in Minnesota on Wednesday as his soon-to-be old team was storming the streets of Los Angeles during their championship parade.
The Rams were crowned Super Bowl Champions last Sunday, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 with a come-from-behind victory. Los Angeles put together an impressive drive offensively in the fourth quarter to pull out the win, and put on an impressive display on that side of the ball most of the game. The good news for the Vikings is one of the biggest reasons for the Rams success was due to the performance of their new head coach.
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Kevin O’Connell’s Scheme Is Key to Minnesota Vikings Success
Game Plan in Super Bowl LVI
When it comes to the point person who makes the official calls on the offensive side of the ball for Los Angeles, Rams head coach Sean McVay has held that role for the last few years. Even though O’Connell is the offensive coordinator and has a heavy input on the scheme offensively, McVay has the final say of what plays take place in various situations for Los Angeles.
Although O’Connell hasn’t been the coach executing the game plan during games and wasn’t the play-caller in the Super Bowl win over the Bengals, he is one of the more involved assistant coaches on McVay’s staff when it comes to creating a game plan for the head coach to ultimately bring to life.
With that said, the scheme and game plan that O’Connell helped implement in the Super Bowl victory was brilliant and was one that ended up leading the Rams to a comeback victory to secure the Lombardi Trophy. That game plan featured uniquely designed plays and even a few trick plays that were enough to push Los Angeles over the top.
Whether it was McVay, O’Connell himself, or anyone else calling plays on offense for the Rams in the Super Bowl, the game plan brought into the game was an impressive one. And one of the coaches who had a heavy input in that was the new Vikings head coach.
Similar Talent, Star Power in Minnesota
Ever since Los Angeles traded for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford the last off-season, the Rams offense has been an exciting, high-powered unit that could put up points on the scoreboard with ease on a weekly basis. With O’Connell being someone who created the game plans to allow that offensive to thrive, Minnesota hopes that will translate to the Vikings and offer the purple and gold with a similar style of play.
Minnesota should be excited about what O’Connell and his coaching staff could bring to the Vikings offense, especially with the star power that is present on the team and Minnesota featuring a plethora of talent on that side of the ball.
Although it’s not realistic to think the Vikings offense will look just like the Rams’ offense as soon as O’Connell takes over as head coach, Minnesota could present some of the same characteristics Los Angeles did during its Super Bowl season.
The Vikings and Rams both feature stars in the passing game, led by veteran quarterbacks and a duo of talented receivers on the outside of the field. To go along with that, both teams also have solid rushing attacks with Minnesota arguably having an even better run game led by Dalvin Cook and company.
The Vikings could, and probably should start to look to airing the ball out and being aggressive much like the Rams were in 2021. That was a glaring issue and absence from Minnesota’s offensive game plan for much of the last year, but O’Connell could change that as he takes over on the sidelines.
Overall, this Vikings offensive has the ability to resemble a Rams offense that spearheaded a run to a Super Bowl title. And if O’Connell can carry a similar game plan to Minnesota that he put together in 2021 and most recently in the title game, Vikings fans have reason to be excited for the team’s new coach.
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