Vikings Lock Down Their Man
Shut down the silly trade rumor mill.
Vikings Lock Down Their Man
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell won’t be going anywhere, extended by the organization for the long haul on Tuesday afternoon.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted, “More years in Minnesota: Vikings and head coach Kevin O’Connell have reached an agreement on a multi-year contract extension, per sources. He was scheduled to be entering the last year of his contract, but no longer. Now that their head coach extension is done, the Vikings also working an extension for their GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.”
So, not only is O’Connell’s deal in the books, but his boss, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, is up next.
Between O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah, the pair has produced the NFL’s sixth-best win percentage since accepting the top jobs in 2022. The tandem took over for general manager Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer after the 2021 season.
O’Connell has whisked an era of positivity, player-first ways, wins, and culture to the Twin Cities. Before his arrival, the 2020 and 2021 campaigns were marred by leader stubbornness, hard-nosed personalities, and a losing record.
O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah erased those attitudes and tendencies — immediately.
Meanwhile, O’Connell’s extension didn’t lift off without a little controversy. On the morning of the Vikings winner-take-all Week 18 for homefield advantage in the playoffs, FOX Sports Jay Glazer claimed multiple teams wanted to trade for O’Connell, with the league’s coaching carousel right around the bend.
Glazer said multiple teams were calling about 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.
“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.
Others, like ProFootballTalk.com‘s Mike Florio, reported as fact that the Vikings ownership and O’Connell had tension between the two parties as recently as last week.
Now, however, those theories and assumptions look stupid.
Coach contracts are notoriously close-lipped, so it is unclear as of Tuesday how much O’Connell will earn per season.
O’Connell has been heralded as a “quarterback whisperer” in recent seasons, unleashing the best from passers like Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Sam Darnold when injuries arose.
Next up for O’Connell? Unleashing J.J. McCarthy in 2025, who Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell drafted from Round 1 nine months ago.
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.