The Sam Darnold & Kevin O’Connell Controversy — Explained
The Minnesota Vikings had a wonderful night on Thursday at the NFL’s Award Ceremony as head coach Kevin O’Connell won Coach of the Year and former defensive end Jared Allen finally earned Hall of Fame entry.
The Sam Darnold & Kevin O’Connell Controversy — Explained
That was the good part. Then came the weird.
Inexplicably, after the event, a Detroit Lions reporter named Dave Birkett quoted Kevin O’Connell, claiming the Vikings skipper outwardly wanted quarterback Sam Darnold back with the franchise in 2025 and that when Minnesota eventually wins a Super Bowl, Darnold will have a large role.
The problem? O’Connell was speaking about wide receiver Justin Jefferson — not Sam Darnold.
Birkett posted the false quote soon after the ceremony: “Kevin O’Connell in his Coach of the Year news conference: Our goal is to win a championship and Sam Darnold is going to be a huge part of it when we do it. Sure sounds like Vikings want to ride with Darnold next year.”
The tweet was flatly wrong, and here’s O’Connell speaking about Jefferson, using the same quote from Birkett’s tweet but referencing Jefferson:
Before video evidence emerged, other reporters relied on Birkett’s tweet as gospel because the man has a sterling reputation outside of the fake quote tweet. O’Connell replied when asked about it and seemed befuddled.
He said: “I don’t necessarily think that was 100 percent accurate. It was in the spirit of answering a question about Sam’s season and what he was able to do this year. And then the follow up in regards to what it’s going to take to win a championship. Look, you guys know how I feel about Sam. He is a guy who we identified last year as someone who could come in and be successful, and really no matter where he was before he arrived, it was about maximizing our time together. And I think we did that.”
O’Connell added, “I think it was a very special year for Sam, and what that earned him is that everybody in our league thinks he’s a bonafide, legitimate starting quarterback in our league and can win a lot of football games. He won 14 of them. So, he’s earned the right to be a free agent. But we will continue to have ongoing dialogue and discussions with him and his representation as well as being really excited about J.J. McCarthy, and where he’s at in his rehab.”
All those transmissions were from Thursday night. Birkett also doubled and tripled down on the accuracy of his reporting. “Wtf? Yeah he actually said that. Someone asked him about Darnold and that was his answer. I wasn’t recording it cause I wasnt writing about it. Just came back from HOF presser as Gates was bouncing to different stops, when he got asked,” he tweeted late Thursday night when an X user claimed the quote was false.
Then, Saturday morning — two days later — Birkett admitted his mistake. “Ben Goessling tells me Kevin O’Connell’s quote about winning titles the other day was in reference to Justin Jefferson, not Sam Darnold. My mistake. Wasn’t paying close enough attention rushing around at honors. Didn’t mean to give all you Vikings fans a panic,” he backtracked.
In the end, O’Connell did not say Darnold would be around when his team wins a championship. That compliment was reserved for Jefferson.
Birkett was wrong and came clean two days after the gaffe.
In between Thursday night and Saturday morning, over 700,000 people saw the tweet, hoodwinked into believing that O’Connell endorsed Darnold’s return in 2025.
He did not.
Darnold is scheduled to hit free agency in four weeks.
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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