Coaching Continuity Will Pace the 2024 Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings enter 2024 with a handful of uncertainty, given their poor 2023 record and turnover at the quarterback position. Kevin O’Connell will need his group to step up massively, but it’s O’Connell leading them again that makes all the difference.
Coaching Continuity Will Pace the 2024 Vikings
For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the Minnesota Vikings will head into a regular season with the same head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator. Constructing that level of continuity for the roster, especially one experiencing turnover at multiple key positions, is something of a godsend.
Kevin O’Connell is entering his third year as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. In that role, he has become the figurehead of all the operations. While Wes Phillips is back as the offensive coordinator, O’Connell is seen as the architect of the offense. While there are differing levels to that amount of truth, keeping Phillips employed results in consistency.
More importantly is Brian Flores returning to quarterback the defense. After Ed Donatell flopped terribly, O’Connell was able to nab one of the best names in the sport. While Flores flamed out as a head coach with the Miami Dolphins, he joined the Vikings coaching staff and immediately impacted his destined side of the ball.
It’s great that Minnesota gets a level of continuity from the entire staff, but Flores can make the most impactful difference. If he can continue pushing some of the developmental players forward in year two, O’Connell will experience a defense capable of supplementing Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy.
For both O’Connell and Phillips, how the offense is utilized in the year ahead remains to be seen. Justin Jefferson is back, and Jordan Addison looks like a sophomore standout ready to take another step forward. Everything is reliant upon the quarterback position, though, and how well it can handle Kirk Cousins’s departure remains to be seen.
No matter what, all franchises look to establish continuity on the coaching staff on a yearly basis. While the Minnesota Vikings have seen plenty of turnover from a roster perspective, those coaching them remain largely intact.
That is a bonus going into a year in which they could make some unexpected noise, and the more the club can get from new performers, the better they will be.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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