Week 16 Brings a Battle of This Year’s Best First-Year Head Coaches
Ted Schwerzler
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Saturday’s game against the New York Giants probably had a bit more luster early on in the year. Starting out 6-1, first year head coach Brian Daboll had his team rolling. They have gone just 2-4-1 since, but still, Week 16 brings a battle of this year’s best first-year head coaches as the Giants face off with Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings.
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For the Minnesota Vikings, this year has largely been about leadership. In watching the way Kevin O’Connell commands the locker room after a win, or how he handles the media after a loss (of which there have been few), it is clear what a stark contrast there is to 2021. The Vikings head coaching job was largely seen as attractive given the amount of skill position players the team already employed. It was on whoever was hired to unleash them.
Under Mike Zimmer, the message had gotten stale. A leadership through fear was doing little positive for anyone involved, and the locker room had largely tuned out the tiresome head coach. O’Connell brought in a feeling of fresh air and immediately empowered his players. It was evident from the get-go that this team believed in one another and had each other’s backs.
After an ugly loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, the Vikings didn’t wilt. O’Connell got his team ready, and they pulled off a come-from-behind-victory at home against the Detroit Lions. The shellacking by the Dallas Cowboys was answered in the same way, and while it took the greatest comeback in NFL history last week, Minnesota never stopped grinding. The leadership, and belief Minnesota has in it is palpable.
The New York Giants are no stranger to this situation. A season ago, Joe Judge led virtually the same team to a 4-13 record. Players were vocally frustrated by the way he ran practices and the way in which he pushed so many to the brink. New York dealt with injuries and retirements as a direct result of his style, and the positive outcomes were few and far between. Surviving just a pair of seasons, getting worse in each of them, it was clear a change had to be made.
Coming over from one of the NFL’s best teams, Daboll brought offensive principles that helped Josh Allen turn into a superstar. Stefon Diggs became an even greater weapon, and the Bills entered 2022 as a Super Bowl favorite largely because of how they positioned themselves with the new Giants head coach working in their organization.
It’s not a surprise that the Giants have turned things around immensely this season through many of the same principles Minnesota has employed. By all accounts, Daboll appears to be a good leader that advances through empowerment and gets the buy-in of those around him. He’s turned Daniel Jones back into a workable talent and leaned heavily on a mostly healthy Saquon Barkley to get the job done.
On Saturday we’ll see which of the first year head coaches is more up to the test. Obviously it being a home game for Minnesota, the Vikings have some benefits on their side. Favored by 3.5 points according to bookmaker Bovada, Minnesota isn’t seen as a runaway victor in this one. However, with the Giants run defense being as poor as it is, O’Connell may find additional ways to exploit the opponent rather than ambushing them with Justin Jefferson through the air.
No matter who comes out victorious this weekend, it’s a welcomed sight to see two newly installed head coaches succeed so greatly while having to change very little outside of culture. So much surrounding positive results has to do with empowerment and leadership qualities. Thus far, it seems both of these men have that going for them.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.