The numbers bear out OConnells observation. In addition to helping QB Jared Goff to his fourth consecutive of at least 3,800 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in 2020, O'Connell prepared QB John Wolford for a win-and-in game against the Cardinals in Week 17, helping him pass for 231 yards and rush for 56 more in his NFL debut, while leading the Rams to a 18-7 victory and a playoff berth. How long does he meet that threshold? But even if he didnt injure his knee at Winter Park, its fair to wonder if he would have ever become the long-term franchise quarterback. Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell isn't saying if Ed Donatell will return as defensive coordinator for the 2023 season. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. No cards were shown when OConnell was asked about Flores and the cornerback position as it pertains to the draft but it would appear that Flores will be looking for players with flexibility, whether thats in terms of position or skill set. What I was really impressed with Justin this year was the leadership, the next step. Were having conversations with our players, their representation, and ultimately how all of those things shake out will be done in a way where we just want to make sure we stand by what we believe in as an organization.. At the same time, proud of what they've accomplished this year and look forward to the first day of the offseason program, when we get those guys back in here.". We haven't shown our ability to come in year-in, year-out and do those things. ". Cousins' 4,093 passing yards marked his third-consecutive 4,000-yard passing season, helping him become the 11th quarterback in NFL history to accomplish this feat. How do you go forward building it from here? NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the Vikings plan on interviewing Rams assistant head coach/running backs coach Thomas Brown for their offensive coordinator position under O'Connell. He said it's between a startup and one with an ability to earn, adding "in our business, earning is wins. KARE 11 Sports Director. None of that is to say OConnell is not evaluating quarterbacks in this years draft. O'Connell led the Vikings to a 134 record on the season, tying Matt LaFleur and Jim Harbaugh for the second-most wins for a rookie head coach in NFL history. The Vikings were unable to officially announce that they were hiring O'Connell until after Los Angeles' playoff run came to an end. O'Connell was claimed off waivers by the Jets on September 4, 2011.[16]. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. The riser was lower than the previous stage, but the team they've led for about a year has been elevated from an 8-9 squad to one that won 13 games for the third time within a Vikings season. That, more than anything, is what OConnell wants to eliminate. Predictability, then, provides comfort to defenses. "Like [O'Connell] said in his final meeting, 'It's supposed to hurt. 2023 Minnesota Vikings Football, LLC , All Rights Reserved. And just in all of our dialogue Monday with our players, getting a chance to meet with each and every one of them, they understand that, and they're motivated for that. In his first season as the Vikings' coach, O'Connell has compiled a 6-1 record and the team has a 3.5-game lead in the NFC North entering Week 9. Stafford set the single-season team record for passing yards (4,886) and tied Kurt Warner from his 1999 MVP season for the most passing touchdowns in a season by a Rams quarterback with 41, while also winning his first playoff game in his 13th season in the NFL. A former NFL quarterback who was a career backup, O'Connell has been the Rams' offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Cousins is attached to a fully guaranteed $35MM base salary. The Vikings Will Benefit From Their Revamped Team Culture, Theres One Ideal Way To Deal With Danielle Hunters Contract. On third-and-8, for example, the Vikings personnel options were limited. Sure, it may not be good as a fresh bowl of General Tsaos Chicken, but it beats not having Chinese food at all. The wait is over for Minnesota Vikings fans who were a bit . The Raiders plan to place the franchise tag on running back Josh Jacobs if the sides cannot come to a deal on a long-term extension by Tuesday's deadline, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Friday. [14] He was later released again on July 29, 2011.[15]. That will motivate us to lead this organization to the place we want to go. Right. During the 2018 season, O'Connell was tasked with getting three different quarterbacks (Josh Johnson, Colt McCoy and Mark Sanchez) up to speed following a devastating injury to starting QB Alex Smith. [17] He was released on August 12, 2012. Really excited about Lewis and his mental growth through how he handled the adversity of that injury, OConnell said. . O'Connell was asked today if Donatell will be back and didn't . [25][26], On February 16, 2022, just three days after his Super Bowl LVI victory, O'Connell was hired by the Minnesota Vikings as the 10th head coach in their franchise history. It meets that first threshold, and thats a question that a lot of people cant answer with a yes. So we have got to make sure that we treat that in the proper importance it is.. The Vikings need to clear $23 million of 2023 salary to get under the cap. Not only schematically, how people play against you, but the responsibility he has as a role model. We're still feeling that here, but I will say that hurt, that sting, that will drive us. In terms of the things that were different in 2022, the most noticeable were the approach to camp and preseason workloads, managing injuries and how players who were recovering from injuries were talked about publicly and the buy-in to quarterback Kirk Cousins. View images from the Vikings locker room at TCO Performance Center on Monday as players cleaned out their lockers at the end of the 2022-23 season. His team won 13 games and the NFLPA just said his teams culture was the best in the league. [19], O'Connell was hired to the offensive staff of the San Francisco 49ers on February 26, 2016. 4. He's McVay's second coordinator in two years to move on, joiningformer Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, who is now head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. O'Connell was signed by the San Diego Chargers on July 29, 2012, to serve as an emergency back-up in the Chargers' practices with Charlie Whitehurst suffering an injury and Kyle Boller announcing his retirement from the league. Kevin O'Connell, fresh off a Super Bowl victory as the Los Angeles Rams' offensive coordinator, was introduced as the Minnesota Vikings next head coach on Thursday, and the big takeaway from . But Kevin O'Connell's comments later in the week made it sound like something bigger was in the works. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. "Very thankful for him in Year 1 and really looking forward to seeing him growing both as a leader and continued dominance at the receiver position.". The more I can educate myself, learning about the details and particulars of our current situation, our previous situation, and obviously what it looks like moving forward, the more my conversations can be not only from an accurate place of where we are at this moment but where we hope to get to, OConnell said. Kupp's wide receiver Triple Crown in 2021, which he won after leading the NFL in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16), joined him with WR Jerry Rice (San Francisco 49ers, 1990), WR Sterling Sharpe (Green Bay Packers, 1992) and WR Steve Smith (Carolina Panthers, 2005) as the only players since the 1970 merger to achieve this feat. The Minnesota Vikings named Kevin O'Connell as the 10th head coach in franchise history on Feb. 16, 2022. While they can feel reinforced by the results of the foundation laid in their first year, they also know a multitude of decisions await and all teams change from year to year. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Doing so could mean some hard decisions on key contributors from last season like Dalvin Cook, Eric Kendricks, ZaDarius Smith and others. Theres a lot of different directions you can go, OConnell said, and (each decision) affects another one and another one. The Patriots gave no explanation for releasing O'Connell, who was in competition with veteran quarterback Andrew Walter, signed after his release from the Oakland Raiders, and undrafted free agent rookie Brian Hoyer of Michigan State. So theres not one right way.. Harrison Smith stats (2021): 73% completion % allowed, 98.7 QB rating allowed Already a projected $14 million over the 2022 NFL salary cap, the Vikings need to clear a ton of room. If they want a quarterback in this draft, they seem willing to find a way to get them. How OConnell and the front office maneuver through these personnel decisions to counteract the way defenses have played them could well become a key story in 2023. Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell spoke at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday, March 1, and he shed a little bit of light on what the team's goals are for the offseason. If OConnells staff likes a prospect like USCs Caleb Williams or North Carolinas Drake Maye, they may be better served to wait especially with an aging team that will face a harder schedule in 2023. He made his NFL debut on September 21, 2008, in the fourth quarter against the Miami Dolphins, throwing his first four career passes and completing three. Teams that typically played with one-high safety against most opponents often utilized two-high safeties against the Vikings. A year later, they have far more expertise of the Vikings' roster. The 34-year-old has put up good statistics over the years, including 33 TDs and seven interceptions last season, but he's never delivered any sustained postseason success. So have expectations going forward, until "someday" can become "the day.". The Vikings tried to identify another quarterback when trading up for Teddy Bridgewater in 2014. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. There also were road losses at Detroit and Green Bay after the calendar flipped to December. They needed more receivers on the field. None of that means anything for what we do moving forward if we dont grow and evolve and change in a good capacity, OConnell said. It comes down to efficiency, he said. On Tuesday, Adofo-Mensah explained that Cousins camp wants certainty if he is to sign a new deal, while the Vikings seek flexibility. He called conversations ongoing about Cousinss future. Florida's Anthony Richardson, one of the draft's most intriguing QB prospects, told reporters on Friday that in high school he modeled his game after two notable passers: Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson. On August 5, 2011, O'Connell signed with the Miami Dolphins, but was waived on September 3. Along the way, personal relationships grew. Adofo-Mensah admitted his elevation to GM brought him more exposure to the human elements than when he was advancing through the research-and-development departments with the 49ers and Browns. ", "Kevin is an impressive and respected leader who has been a part of some explosive offensive schemes," said Vikings Owner/Chairman Zygi Wilf. Wanting to make those guys feel like their coach cares about them, both the person and the player, and their future, its real, OConnell said. We want to be.". OConnell, though, sounded committed to making it work. On August 31, 2010, New York released O'Connell. We laugh. The Minnesota Vikings finalized their hiring of head coach Kevin O'Connell on Wednesday, completing a sharp offseason shift in direction by turning over the team to the 36-year-old. O'Connell also helped the Rams offense tie for seventh in scoring offense (27.1 points per game) and score on 45.9% of their offensive drives, which ranked third in the NFL behind the Kansas City Chiefs (48.2) and New England Patriots (48.0). Linebacker Eric Kendricks referred to a fear-based culture in a conference call after the former HC and GM were let go and players acknowledged meeting with ownership in which they asked for improvements in the overall environment. The Vikings officially. Pelissero noted that Brown, who interviewed for the Miami Dolphins head coaching position, is considered a "rising assistant" and is a candidate to replace O'Connell in Los Angeles. The Vikings had several needs coming off a 15-win season in 1998. [4] He was the Kai team quarterback in the 2008 Hula Bowl, where he led the offense and was one of the Kai team's only bright spots. O'Connell, 36, was a third-round pick . 3. When you visit any web site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Conversely, when the Vikings ran for zero or negative yards on first down, something they did more than any other team in the league aside from the Jaguars, they would then be fighting uphill. Commanders wide receiver Jahan Dotson is "fired up" to work with Washington's new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. McCown also broke the single-game passing record in 2015, throwing for 457 yards against the Baltimore Ravens. Beyond the Xs and Os, everyone we spoke with throughout this search process spoke highly of Kevin's ability to motivate players, coaches and staff. What was initially pitched as a competitive rebuild and trying to win on the margins morphed into setting an NFL record for the most one-score wins in a season (11-0) thanks to players who were led to become situational masters at key moments of close games. To provide the premier place to go to work and improve both personally and collectively as a team in our league means a lot to us, OConnell said. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. One thing he knows is that no matter how many As he got in a survey or wins he posted as a first-year coach, that doesnt mean they can do it all again the same way and get the same results. ", "As I spent time with Kevin during the interview process, it became immediately clear he will be a great partner in building this football team for long-term success," said Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. O'Connell compared Cousins to Matthew Stafford, calling each an "elite thrower," via Tomasson (on Twitter ). When Kwesi Adofo-Mensah stepped up to the podium at the NFL Scouting Combine, he had several questions to answer about the Minnesota Vikings future. Aside from the quarterback situation which is like talking about building a house and saying other than the ground it stands on the Vikings will also consider the wants/needs/system of Brian Flores as they look for improvement on defense. Kevin William O'Connell (born May 25, 1985), nicknamed " KOC ", [1] is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). O'Connell and the Rams are coming. Those are all questions we got to answer. In addition to helping QB Jared Goff to his fourth consecutive season with at least 3,800 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in 2020, O'Connell prepared QB John Wolford for a win-and-in game against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, helping him pass for 231 yards and rush for 56 more in his NFL debut, while leading the Rams to a 18-7 victory and a playoff berth. But Adofo-Mensah gave his own review about his starting quarterback. Adofo-Mensah had to explain how the Vikings, a team in salary cap hell, were going to shed salary while building off the teams first 13-win season since 2017. I believe in him as a player and was really proud of the way he played this year but we always have to be evaluating, he said. Ive spent a lot of time with Rob [Brzezinski] and Kwesi [Adofo-Mensah], and well continue to do that in anticipation of being at a certain place by the league year like we need to be and then, How do we go forward building it from there?. Prior to his one year in San Francisco, O'Connell was the quarterbacks coach in Cleveland during the 2015 season, assisting QB Josh McCown to becoming the only player in team history to throw for 300 or more passing yards in three consecutive games. Spielman tried his hand at it, scouting Carson Strong and praising Malik Willis response to an overrated chant one year ago. Thats the byproduct of trying to do things the way we do. Sep 9 2010 Resigned a 2 year $1.25 million contract with New York (NYJ) Aug 31 2010 Waived by New York (NYJ) Sep 6 2009 Traded to NYJ from Detroit for a conditional draft pick. "It's so easy from my background to sit in front of a spreadsheet and make decisions and talk about things. The offensive coordinator from the 2022 Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, Kevin O'Connell, is finalizing his head coaching contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Thielen will turn 33 this summer and incur a $19.9 million cap hit against the Vikings salary cap. Kevin O'Connell: Vikings have 'some real decisions' ahead to get under salary cap By Alec Lewis Mar 1, 2023 14 INDIANAPOLIS Following his news conference Wednesday afternoon at the NFL. The New England Patriots selected O'Connell with their fourth pick (94th overall) in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Were going to continue to take a look at whats the best route to go moving forward in that room, as are all the other rooms. Since then, there have been postseason appearances after the 2012 (loss in Wild Card), 2015 (loss in Wild Card), 2017 (loss in NFC Championship), 2019 (loss in Divisional) and 2022 (loss in Wild Card) seasons. I think theres a conversation to be had to really see what that looks like: playing time and roles and responsibilities.. Adofo-Mensah also stated that there are a lot of other factors to consider what type of quarterback the Vikings could be looking for. "We have to make sure we do it in an order that we can do it in given all the other decisions we have to make.". Youve got to ask yourself the question: Why?. When you have the receiver that leads the league in yards and receptions and have three other guys with 60-plus, you feel really strongly about that group, and I still think that theres places to go where we can build upon it even more, OConnell mentioned about Justin Jefferson and his wide receiving corps. The Minnesota Vikings have made the hiring of Kevin O'Connell as their new head coach official by sharing the news on social media. OConnell explained Wednesday that that process ranged from reviewing game-management decisions to gauging his teams success in various schemes and plays. converting part of right tackle Brian O'Neill's base salary to a signing bonus. Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 04:43, "Adam Thielen on KOC's lack of screaming: 'It's kind of almost awkward', "SDSU Aztecs Biography for Kevin O'Connell", "Offensive Evolution Under Long Has Come to Pass for the Aztecs", "Kevin O'Connell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile", "Kevin OConnell, San Diego State, QB, 2008 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football", "Lions have seven picks in upcoming draft", "Jets lose confidence in rookie running back Joe McKnight", "Jets release backup QB Mark Brunell, still waiting on Nnamdi Asomugha", "Jets awarded four players off waivers, including QB Kevin O'Connell; cut Aaron Maybin", "Chargers Notes: Former LCC, Aztecs QB O'Connell signed as emergency fill-in", "Kevin O'Connell hired to coach QBs as Browns round out offensive staff", "49ers adding O'Connell to offensive staff", "Kevin O'Connell will coach quarterbacks in Washington", "Redskins Promote Kevin O'Connell To Offensive Coordinator; Matt Cavanaugh Moves To Senior Offensive Assistant", "Kevin O'Connell amicably departs as Redskins hire Scott Turner as OC", "2021 Los Angeles Rams Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports", "Los Angeles Rams come back to win Super Bowl LVI 2320 in front of hometown crowd", "Minnesota Vikings Name Kevin O'Connell 10th Head Coach In Franchise History", "Minnesota Vikings officially hire 'innovative' Kevin O'Connell as new head coach", "Packers vs. Vikings - Box Score - September 11, 2020", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin_O%27Connell_(American_football)&oldid=1141660186, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 04:43. Even if the Vikings agree to a long-term extension, they seem to be willing to wait until their version of Mr. My main goal was just to connect with him and build on a relationship that I thought was strong already. [But you] sit in exit meetings with players, and it becomes personal at that point," Adofo-Mensah said. Hes the epitome of a hometown hero, universally loved, and the type of player who should retire with the Vikings. [3] O'Connell graduated from La Costa Canyon in 2003. And I also want my opportunity to show that I can play at a high level. KSTPs Darren Wolfson reported that the Vikings met with Florida manI meanquarterback Anthony Richardson at the scouting combine and OConnell is keen on Kentucky quarterback Will Levis despite his Orlovskian food takes. In July 2017, Kirk Cousins became the first quarterback to play under the franchise tag for the second consecutive year. [How do you] round him to make sure that you can win that way? That was somebody that was as important as anybody for me to bring to this organization I didnt know there was going to be a survey, it didnt matter to me, but I knew what that would look like with Tyler, Kwesi and myself and how we build things.. O'Connell, a former backup NFL quarterback who spent time with five different teams, knows the business from a player's side and coach's side. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Whatever the plan, timing is everything for the Vikings. Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson put on a show Saturday at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, making history during his highly anticipated workout. When Favre finally declined, the Vikings were in another spot of desperation to draft a quarterback in 2011. And none of the endings feature everyone who was around last year. INDIANAPOLIS -- Justin Jefferson led the NFL in receiving yards and receptions in 2022 while averaging 106.4 yards per game. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. Follow Alec on Twitter @alec_lewis. O'Connell played quarterback at San Diego State University, and was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Get a behind-the-scenes look at Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell's media day last week at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine.