Per Kevin O’Connell, The Vikings’ Red Zone Specialist Got Stolen Away
Kevin O’Connell leaned on Brian Angelichio, a coach who was stolen away by the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the offseason.
Apparently, that’s bad news for the red zone.
Pittsburgh’s current OC was someone who helped considerably when the Vikings got close to scoring. “He’s been vital for me in the red zone,” Coach O’Connell said at the Annual League Meeting, “over our four years together here.” More broadly, O’Connell praised Angelichio’s capacity to sew the passing game and the running game together while suggesting that his preparation is excellent. He is, in other words, somebody to have in the team’s corner during crunch time, making his subtraction more painful than many realized.
Kevin O’Connell, Brian Angelichio, & The Red Zone
Last year, the Vikings’ offense wasn’t very good.
The final tally shows 344 points across the full season. That’s coming in at 26th in the NFL, better than only the Raiders (fired their HC), Browns (fired their HC), Titans (fired their HC), Jets (first season with a new coach), Saints (first season with a new coach), and Panthers (a team that went 8-9 in the NFL’s worst division). None of those teams are very good.
On a per-game basis, Kevin O’Connell’s team tossed up 20.2 points.
In other words, the Vikings weren’t bringing back memories of the ’07 Patriots (ironically, a team that would then draft a young Kevin O’Connell in the 2008 NFL Draft).
In 2025, things weren’t particularly promising. Does that mean that subtracting a key decision maker is therefore an instance of addition by subtraction? Possibly, at least insofar as anything is possible. But then there’s another possibility: the Vikings struggled despite getting strong input from Coach Angelichio. Where are things going to go without the help of the former coach?
Maybe one of the key ways that things will improve will be through the presence of Kyler Murray.
At the very least, the veteran passer will be more accurate. Space can be scarce in that area of the field, so being able to put the ball precisely where it needs to be is vitally important.
Likewise, the threat of Murray scampering for a score is going to do good work for the Minnesota Vikings. Putting a spy onto Murray — a linebacker or safety to keep his eyes on the QB for fear of a passer who becomes a runner — means one less player for coverage duties. Failing to put a spy on Murray means the QB possibly finding an open lane to sneak through.
Or, perhaps, the mere threat of running will be enough to pull a defender up. Envision a world where Murray steps up, prompting a defensive back to get too frisky, flying forward rather than hanging back in coverage. Maybe the passer with great accuracy and zip can find a pair of open hands since a zone or man responsibility has been abandoned.
Kevin O’Connell, the head coach and playcaller on offense, has essentially zero excuse. Losing a key thinker does matter in a game as strategic as football. Part of the problem, though, is that O’Connell is moving into his fifth year as the top skipper, meaning that expectations are higher. The time is now.
At the very least, the Vikings appear set to boast a very strong defense (especially if a bold trade occurs). So, too, should the special teams do well. Will Reichard is elite and so is Andrew DePaola. Seeing newcomer Johnny Hekker experience a bounce under the guidance of Matt Daniels, a great coach, would mean that the effort on specials will be formidable.
Kevin O’Connell is going to need his side of the ball to improve, even without the red zone thinker to help put points on the board.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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