Kevin

O'Connell

O’Connell and the Vikings flamed out in the postseason, but the 39-year-old was able to lead Minnesota to a 14-3 record even with most pundits projecting the team nowhere close to playoff contention. Dan Campbell finished second in voting, with Andy Reid pulling in third.

There has been no official reports of contract years added or money, but O’Connell was entering the final season of his coaching contract and gets a huge multi-year extension after starting his career 34-17, including a 14-3 record in 2024. O’Connell turned Darnold into wine before the scrapheap quarterback fell apart in his final two starts of the season against the Lions and Rams and is likely on the shortlist for Coach of the Year honors. The #sources are going off about an extension for GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as something that is down the road as well. It’s a well-earned reward for O’Connell, one that ends a few wishful thinking storylines out of places without a locked-in head coach. After wrapping up a Adofo-Mensah extension, the Vikings will get to work on how to build on their upstart campaign.

O’Connell added that he and the owners have had great dialogue in the days since the Vikings’ season ended in the NFC Wild Card Round. O’Connell boasts a 34-17 record in his three seasons with the Vikings but is now 0-2 in the postseason with losses to Giants and Rams on his ledger. While Sam Darnold was unable to extend his good play from the 2024 campaign into the playoffs, there’s no denying the impressive job O’Connell and his staff did to get Darnold playing at an MVP caliber level while leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record. O’Connell is set to enter the final year of his contract this offseason, but it would come as a surprise to nobody if the team re-upped with him before the new season kicks off.

The Vikings have no reason to trade their highly successful young coach and this report puts this morning’s trade rumblings further in the rearview. O’Connell will be well paid by the Vikings this offseason, where he will remain for years to come.

Speaking on FOX NFL Pregame, Glazer noted that O’Connell is about to enter the final year of his contract and has not had extension talks with the team. O’Connell is 34-16 as the Vikings’ boss and is playing for the No. 1 overall seed later today. There’s no chance Minnesota parts ways with him, even for a king’s ransom. Expect the two sides to iron out a contract extension at some point in the offseason.

That, of course, was not something O’Connell did under the great Sean McVay in Los Angeles. It is a task he has surely been well prepared for, but could be the toughest part of his transition from assistant to lead duties. O’Connell’s No. 1 offensive objective will likely be to run smarter in 2022 after the Vikes continually ran the ball just for the sake of it, often letting opposing teams back into games Minnesota should have won.

There has been some speculation making the rounds that Sean McVay’s retirement could trigger a scenario where O’Connell succeeded McVay as Rams head coach. That would be quite a shift in plans, but it appears at this point that the Vikings are still locked on to O’Connell and look likely to seal the deal on Thursday. O’Connell couldn’t officially agree to the job while the Rams were still in the playoffs.

The Vikings zeroed in on O’Connell weeks ago but couldn’t officially hire him until after the Rams completed their Super Bowl run. O’Connell becomes the latest Sean McVay coach to land a head coaching gig, joining an impressive coaching tree. When in Washington, O’Connell worked with Kirk Cousins, who has spoken highly of his new head coach and his role in his development. Cousins may ultimately not be back in Minnesota, depending on how new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah plays the offseason. However, if Cousins returns, O’Connell should be able to design an offense that plays to his quarterback’s strengths. The Vikings are likely to pass more than in the Mike Zimmer era, which is good news for Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, who could also benefit from the new play designs. The offense could still be much closer to balanced than pass-heavy, however, creating upside for Dalvin Cook as a workhorse in an improved offense.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Adam Schefter have also reported O’Connell is expected to get the job, though it can’t be made official until after the Super Bowl with the Rams’ season still going on. It’s O’Connell’s job if he wants it, and the Vikings have already informed the other candidates. The Rams and coach Sean McVay will once again have to replace another high-level offensive assistant. McVay has been losing them on a yearly basis.

The Rams making the Super Bowl in O’Connell’s second year with the team plus the allure of a Sean McVay alum has turned him into one of the hottest candidates still available. He also has a second interview upcoming with the Vikings plus a potential first interview in Jacksonville, though that one will have to wait until the season ends. With some of the other big names already signed, O’Connell may get to choose between a few different franchises. Minnesota would be a good bet but O’Connell is reportedly a fan of Trevor Lawrence, leaving the Jags in play. Houston will need to pull out all of the stops to pry O’Connell away from more desirable landing spots.