Teasley, O’Connell relationship critical for Vikings
The Nolan Teasley, Kevin O’Connell relationship becomes critical for the Vikings
For any NFL team, the most important relationship happens between the head coach and the G.M. (Except where the coach is the G.M., in title or far more often in power.)
In Minnesota, the biggest question emerging from the hiring of Nolan Teasley as the successor to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is whether Teasley and Kevin O’Connell will operate as a partnership that strengthens, not fractures, during the inevitability of adversity.
When the coach and G.M. are truly in it together, struggles don’t become an occasion to point fingers. When the coach and G.M. don’t have a strong connection, human nature takes over when the going gets tough. One blames the other, subtly or overtly, in the hopes of surviving the purge.
Earlier this month, O’Connell said he’d be as involved in the G.M. search as ownership wanted him to be. As characterized by Kevin Seifert of ESPN, O’Connell was heavily involved.
Seifert reports that ownership “lean[ed] mostly” on O’Connell and Vikings chief operating officer Andrew Miller in the search that landed on Teasley.
Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that Teasley and O’Connell “have known each other for years,” and that they built a relationship through O’Connell’s connection to Seahawks G.M. John Schneider.
Via Goessling, that relationship made Teasley “attractive” to the Vikings as they “looked for a partner for the head coach.”
Teasley’s side of the relationship becomes critical, too. Most aspiring General Managers have a personal list of the coaches they’d want to work with if/when they get the top job in a team’s front office.
Remember when Jim Caldwell coached the Lions? He went 11-5, 7-9, 9-7, and 9-7 with a team that had struggled through many bad seasons. It wasn’t enough to keep Bob Quinn from fulfilling his desire to work with Matt Patricia — who generated a record of 13-29-1 before the Lions moved on.
O’Connell, through four years, has proven that he should be at or near the top of anyone’s list. And if Teasley and O’Connell already know each other, that’s a major plus.
Regardless, they’re now partners. They need to be joined at the hip in order to give the Vikings a chance at something more than every-other-year one-and-done playoff appearances.
LIVE WELL ~ LOVE MUCH ~ LAUGH OFTEN
I think their relationship will be the easiest part of the marriage. Good players need to be drafted and wins need to be cultivated, along with finding a QB1 for the long term. HC, DC and GM are now in place with solid ownership: go get it. Was it ever published what KOC's contract parameters are as far as salary on his new contract?
edit: got it, $13 mill per year. KOC just turned 41, Teasley is 42 and Flores is 45. Let this young group thrive and prosper together.
“The opportunity to pair Nolan with Rob Brzezinski and Kevin O’Connell gives the team three experts in their respective areas and creates the strongest leadership team for the club,” one team source said.
Nice quote, former college player at Central Washington:
"It's that underdog mentality," Teasley said when asked where he got his work ethic from. "Being that D2 athlete just kind of builds into it and it's just part of who we are as an athlete and as a person. The process and the day to day work makes for long days. The hardest part is you're never really finished. There's always something to do and you never really feel like you can turn off or completely unplug."
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