Man Who Created Kevin O’Connell Trade Rumors Doubles Down
He insists they were real.
Man Who Created Kevin O’Connell Trade Rumors Doubles Down
FOX Sports‘ Jay Glazer tweeted defiantly on Tuesday after the Minnesota Vikings extended head coach Kevin O’Connell’s contract. O’Connell’s new deal features multiple years and “blockbuster” pay, though no specific details have been made public.
For starters, Glazer said mere hours before the Vikings’ Week 18 game at the Detroit Lions that multiple teams were interested in trading for O’Connell, even if the young skipper wasn’t for sale. Coach trades are rare in the business, although the Denver Broncos acquired Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints in 2023 for a considerable haul, including a 1st-Round draft pick.
“There’s one candidate out there that’s going to surprise you all, that no one knows is on lists, and he is. There are multiple teams that actually are considering trying to trade for Kevin O’Connell,” Glazer said on January 5th.
“Maybe the Vikings don’t let it happen. But also Kevin O’Connell kind of has the card saying, ‘Hey, listen, I’m not going to re-sign there so you might as well get something for me’. Now, I don’t know because, obviously, I don’t think Kevin knows about this right now. But there are multiple teams who have them on that board to say, ‘Let’s at least try and see if we can trade,” Glazer added that Sunday.
Reporters then asked O’Connell about the rumors on Monday following his team’s loss at Detroit. He appeared aware of the Glazer report and replied, “I’m not really interested in addressing the rumors or the speculation. What I can tell you is I love this team. I love everything about this organization. This is where I want to be. This is where I want to keep coaching and leading.”
Fast forward to January 21st, and Minnesota extended O’Connell’s contract for the long haul. Most fans never believed any O’Connell rumors, so when the deal completed this week, social media users were critical of Glazer’s reporting.
And he wasn’t shy about firing back.
“Welp, the timing was because that is when our show airs Fox NFL SUNDAY. Not Wednesday or Thursday. SUNDAY. Every year for probably the last 15 years the same weekend I do my ANNUAL coaching carousel segment and usually drop nuggets that day that aren’t known. I don’t work for Twitter, I work for FOX so I wait til Sunday to drop news. I hold news very often to use on FOX only. Oh and btw, yes, there were in fact MULTIPLE teams interested in trading for KOC, and yes Vikings were aware of that.,” Glazer tweeted.
“I never reported he’s being traded bc that’s up to Vikings. Just that he was on several teams to try to trade for. They did the smart thing by moving quickly to ensure he would happily be the Vikings head coach for years. Did my job reporting what was going on behind the scenes in some of these searches. This narrative that i reported it to screw the Vikings when they were going to play the Lions is the dumbest shit I’ve ever read… and I’ve read some realllly dumb shit over the years. Hope this helps.”
O’Connell will now be attached to the Vikings’ for at least the next 3-5 seasons. The deal’s parameters could be released in the coming days, at least the years.
What’s more, ProFootballTalk.com‘s Mike Florio led the charge in the last two weeks, claiming tension existed between the Vikings ownership and O’Connell personally. When the dust settled, however, the Vikings extended their man less than a week after the 2024 season concluded and a full year before his contract expired.
Still, Florio insulted fans on X: “To those who insist that the Vikings reaching a deal with Kevin O’Connell means there were no issues whatsoever between team and coach, how did you pass the written exam for a driver’s license?”
Glazer was likely correct that teams mentioned pursuing O’Connell or asking about his would-be trade cost. The kicker? The Vikings were never selling.
O’Connell will turn 40 in May.
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 MIN 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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