02-08-2022, 08:07 PM
Did the Vikings Hire the Right Person From the McVay/Shanahan Tree?
Circling back on the Shanahan/McVay coaching tree. It’s tough to argue against what this NFL power circle has accomplished in a short amount of time. Since 2016, the Shanahan/McVay coaching tree has been responsible for:
- One Super Bowl champion (to be crowned on Sunday)
- Five Super Bowl appearances (two from Shanahan, two from McVay, and one from Zac Taylor)
- Eight Conference Championship Game appearances (three from Shanahan, two from McVay, two from LaFleur, and one from Taylor)
- Matt Ryan (2016)
- Jared Goff (2018)
- Jimmy Garoppolo (2019 & 2021)
- Joe Burrow (2021)
- Matthew Stafford (2021)
When you consider that O’Connell and McDaniel are different flavors of the NFL’s most successful coaching tree in recent memory, it’s fair to ask: Did the Vikings decide to hire the right Shanahan/McVay understudy?
Let’s start by taking a look at McDaniel. The newly christened Dolphins head coach spent his 15-year NFL career working under Mike and/or Kyle Shanahan. With stops in Denver, Houston, Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta, and San Francisco, McDaniel was alongside Kyle every step of the way since 2006 — except for a brief stint with the Sacramento Mountain Lions from 2009-10.
McDaniel spent the ’13 and ’14 seasons as the wide receivers coach for Washington and the Cleveland Browns but quickly shifted his focus to overseeing the running game once the San Francisco 49ers hired Kyle as the head coach in 2017. McDaniel has been credited with being the brains behind Kyle Shanahan’s innovative run game concepts.
And while McDaniel’s next-level wizardry in the run game can’t be disputed, would Justin Jefferson and the Vikings be the best fit for the Yale graduate to implement his run-centric scheme? With Jaylen Waddle cut from a similar cloth as San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel, McDaniel should be right at home with finding innovative ways to manufacture touches for his new dynamic receiver — whether it be downfield, in the screen game, or out of the backfield.
Enter, Kevin O’Connell.
Before landing with McVay and the Rams, O’Connell spent three years in Washington, including the 2017 season with Kirk Cousins and one season with San Francisco and Cleveland.
O’Connell has spent his NFL coaching career as part of offenses that relied heavily on their wide receivers. Since 2017, O’Connell’s offenses have utilized 11-personnel (one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers) at the following rates:
- ’17 (Washington): 59% (10th highest)
- ’18 (Washington): 71% (7th highest)
- ’19 (Washington): 70% (6th highest)
- ’20 (Los Angeles Rams): 65% (13th highest)
- ’21 (Los Angeles Rams): 85% (highest in the NFL)
Most recently, O’Connell played a vital role in Cooper Kupp achieving one of the most successful seasons for a wide receiver in NFL history. Kupp led the league in receptions (145), yards (1,947), and touchdowns (16) this year. And with Robert Woods, Odell Beckham Jr, and Van Jefferson, life was made a heck of a lot easier for Kupp when other dynamic threats surrounded him.