Tall McVay, Long May He Reign
This comes on the heels of the news that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will be staying with the Wolverines after partaking in an all-day formal interview for the Vikings' job on Wednesday. Harbaugh wasn't offered the Vikings job, according to a source.
O’Connell, 36, can’t officially accept the job until after Super Bowl LVI, but the expectation is that he will be announced as head coach shortly after the Rams-Bengals matchup wraps up next weekend. O’Connell would replace Mike Zimmer, who the Vikings fired shortly after the 2021 regular season ended after the team missed the postseason the past two seasons,
O’Connell has served as Los Angeles’ offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. He spent the previous three seasons with Washington where he steadily moved up the chain from quarterbacks coach (2017) to QB coach/passing game coordinator (2018) and offensive coordinator (2019). He spent time coaching current Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins as his position coach in 2017.
He also spent time in the NFL for a few years after being the Patriots’ 2008 third-round pick. But he only played in two games his rookie season despite bouncing around until 2012.
Zimmer, 65, spent eight seasons in Minnesota compiling a 72-56-1 record, with a 2-3 postseason mark. Zimmer guided the Vikings to two NFC North titles (2015, 2017) and three trips to the postseason. But Minnesota has only made one trip to the playoffs since the Vikings signed Cousins to a fully guaranteed contract in 2018.
One of O'Connell’s primary tasks will center on helping the team improve defensively, as Minnesota finished 30th in total defense in 2021 and 27th in 2020.
This will also make O'Connell the fourth current NFL head coach stemming from the coaching tree of the Rams' Sean McVay: O'Connell, the Bengals' Zac Taylor, the Chargers' Brandon Staley, the Packers' Matt LaFleur.
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
What happened with Harbaugh?Graff: The Vikings made it clear with Harbaugh that he was coming to town for a true formal interview like any other candidate, not one arriving as a formality with an offer already on the table. By Wednesday evening, people on the Vikings’ search committee still had reservations about hiring Harbaugh, according to a source, and the team decided that O’Connell better aligns with their stated goal of seeking continuity and collaboration.
What will O’Connell bring to the Vikings?Graff: He’s a complete change of pace for an organization that is doing a 180 from the previous regime. O’Connell, 36, is an upbeat, innovative coach to replace Zimmer, the 65-year-old intense defensive guru who held the position the last eight years. He’ll probably bring an under-center, play-action-based scheme to the Vikings, which works well with what Cousins does.
So still another 8 days until they can make it official.
@"StickyBun" said: So still another 8 days until they can make it official.
Yep, Kevin O’Connell, will you be our Valentine…? ;) B) :p
@"MaroonBells" said:@"greediron" said:@"purplefaithful" said:@"mgobluevikes" said: That McVay coaching tree is more than a bit skewed when they just happened to fall into situations that include Burrow, Rodgers, Herbert and healthy cap situations. O'Connell is probably going to be looking for a bridge QB, and figuring out how to rework a defense with overpaid, injured or aging players. Gonna be interesting around here if/when we're at 5-7 wins next yr.That said, the founding father got it pretty much done with Goff, at least at first. When the ceiling became obvious with Goff, they did something about it.
... And this new brain-trust figures out the QB of tomorrow far better than RS ever could.
This.Kudos to them for recognizing his limitations, not getting stuck investing in someone who wasn't going to get you there. Then not vocalizing it, but trading him when he had some value left.
This was a smart move on their part. But let's not pretend that Jared Goff is anywhere near as good as Kirk Cousins.
No, that wasn't my point at all. I guess I the quote I quoted was quoting someone makin that point, but I was just saying kudos for seeing clearly and making a bold move at the QB spot.
@"Kentis" said:@"StickyBun" said: So still another 8 days until they can make it official.Yep, Kevin O’Connell, will you be our Valentine…? ;) B) :p
well there is a flower shortage. so i guess he’ll have to do. dont think the wife will agree though.
@"AGRforever" said:@"Kentis" said:@"StickyBun" said: So still another 8 days until they can make it official.Yep, Kevin O’Connell, will you be our Valentine…? ;) B) :p
well there is a flower shortage. so i guess he’ll have to do. dont think the wife will agree though.
At first I thought you said flour shortage! Some of us know how that feels!
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