The Vikings’ QB Whisperer Strikes Again
Kevin O’Connell. The Vikings QB Whisperer. Once again, the Vikings’ head coach showcased his coaching ability, particularly when it comes to the quarterback. This time, he did it in front of the primetime cameras on Monday night football.
VikingsTerritory examines the performance of Kevin O’Connell as the Vikings’ QB whisperer strikes again on Monday Night Football.
All was not going well at Soldier Field through three quarters of football. Minnesota’s offense couldn’t get anything going, with just a couple of Will Reichard field goals to show for its efforts. When in the position to add more points, JJ McCarthy threw an interception to former Vikings practice squad player, Nahshon Wright, who took the return to the house from 74 yards out.
Sideline footage caught O’Connell at his best following the interception. There was no anger, no flailing arms, but a coach who went straight to his young quarterback and got in his ear with words of encouragement to make sure that when McCarthy went back out there, he was confident and ready to go again.
That’s exactly what happened. In a position where it would have been easy to crumble under the pressure and the spotlight, McCarthy did the opposite.
A lot of different things went into that fourth-quarter comeback. The defense kept getting the ball back, the offensive line started to gel and stamp their authority on the game, and the rushing attack, led by the impressive Jordan Mason, got rolling. Then McCarthy stepped up with both his arm and his legs for three touchdown drives on the spin that ultimately led Minnesota to victory.
O’Connell Is One of the Best
As the reigning coach of the year, it should be no great surprise to hear O’Connell touted as one of the best coaches in the NFL. However, winning that award doesn’t always mean a career of longevity at the top of the game. Consider recent recipients of the award, such as Brian Daboll, Natt Nagy, and Jason Garrett, for example. O’Connell, who was unlucky not to win the award in 2022 when it went to Daboll, has impressed since Day 1 in Minnesota and impressed onlookers again on Monday.
Pat McAfee proclaimed him one of the top 3 coaches in the league right now on his show, and posed that opinion to two-time coach of the year and Super Bowl-winning head coach, Bruce Arians, who agreed with him. Arians pointed out that O’Connell never got upset when things went wrong and had trust in his team to get things right. Arians also suggested of O’Connell, “he’s got enough fire, but he’s also got enough calm”. That is the secret to O’Connell’s success.
O’Connell the Problem Fixer
When you see this Vikings team, you know the culture that has been built where everybody has a smile on their face. O’Connell knows when an arm around the shoulder of a player is needed, but that doesn’t mean he’s soft. There’s plenty of fire in him, too, and he can be ruthless when he needs to be.
We observed that both the offensive and defensive lines performed poorly in the interior during the playoff loss in Los Angeles last season. Post-game, he said the team wasn’t good enough in those two areas. Minnesota went into Week 1 of this season having replaced the entire starting line of both interior lines.
Once the OL, which still has star left tackle Christian Darrisaw to return, started to gel, the offense got going. Donovan Jackson looked well worth the first-round pick the Vikings spent on him with an impressive debut. Ryan Kelly and Will Fries also had solid first outings. The DL had a good night with the new men on the inside, Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen impressing.
The Vikings were already solid on the edges of both lines, and after fixing their weaknesses, they look capable of dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Nothing can help a young QB more than that. O’Connell doesn’t just fix the QB; he fixes everything around them to put them in position to succeed. That’s why many people believed McCarthy had a high chance of success in Minnesota.
The Vikings have one of the best young coaches in the league, with an outstanding team of coaches around him. Exciting times are ahead in Minnesota with coach O’Connell at the helm.
You must be logged in to post a comment.