Prestigious Award on the Docket for Vikings
It is no longer a bold take to suggest that Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell will win the honor of the NFL’s Coach of the Year.
Prestigious Award on the Docket for Vikings
In fact, Vikings fans should expect it.
According to NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero, O’Connell is the league’s frontrunner to win COTY — by leaps and bounds — edging Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dan Campbell from the Detroit Lions.
Pelissero surveyed 27 high-ranking executives this week about the award chase around the business, and for COTY, O’Connell received about 17 votes. “It was a landslide win for O’Connell, who received 16.5 votes — 13.5 more than any other candidate. He has the Vikings in position to win the NFC North and potentially secure the No. 1 seed with a castoff quarterback, Sam Darnold, playing the best football of his life on a one-year contract,” Pelissero wrote.
“Only the Packers have led for more total game time this season than the Vikings, who also have seven comeback wins and seven one-possession wins. Few teams are as well-trained at situational football. O’Connell has built a culture that players want to be part of.”
Here’s the official state of the race for COTY, per oddsmakers:
NFL Coach of the Year Odds,
thru Week 15:
Kevin O’Connell = +110
Dan Campbell = +250
Sean Payton = +350
Dan Quinn = +550
Mike Tomlin = +1200
The Vikings have won seven straight games and boast a 12-2 record overall. The franchise unexpectedly started the season a with 5-0 record, a mark tallied against gangbusters opponents — at least at the time — that included dubs over the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, and on the road at the Green Bay Packers.
Pelissero added, “Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin — whose bet on quarterback Russell Wilson has paid off, given that he has a chance to win the AFC North by beating Baltimore on Saturday — finished second with three votes. Other coaches receiving votes included Detroit’s Dan Campbell (two), Kansas City’s Andy Reid (two), the Rams’ Sean McVay (1.5) and Buffalo’s Sean McDermott (one). One executive abstained.”
Minnesota also “controls its own destiny” henceforth. If it wins the next three games versus the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, and Detroit Lions, O’Connell’s group will hold homefield advantage throughout the postseason, which it has not featured in 26 years.
O’Connell is winning — at a 12-2 clip — with a quarterback most thought was a bust. That may be enough to take home the trophy.
He’ll likely bring the award home to Minnesota for the first time in 55 years. Bud Grant was the last to win it for the purple team in 1969.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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