Folks Don’t Seem to Believe in Kevin O’Connell in 2023
The NFL offseason is a time where just about every media outlet comes up with power rankings and lists for everything under the sun. Which teams will be the best in 2023? Which players will lead fantasy teams to championships? Which uniforms look the coolest? Of course, head coaches are not immune to such rankings.
However, it appears that, despite a 13-4 record during 2022, his first season as an NFL head coach, folks don’t have much faith in Kevin O’Connell heading into the 2023 season. Back in May, The 33rd Team plopped the Vikings head coach in the No. 15 spot for their head coach rankings. In June, Pro Football Network had similar thoughts, listing O’Connell as the 21st-best head coach.
Now, as July begins, another power ranking has dropped. On this list written by Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports, O’Connell finds himself ranked 17th. He finds himself between Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins (No. 18) and Frank Reich of the Carolina Panthers (No. 16). Here is how Benjamin defends the placement:
His friendly aura was instantly a good fit for Minnesota (and a locker room coming off Mike Zimmer’s tenure), and his more contemporary offensive approach wisely allowed Kirk Cousins to keep slinging it, feeding Justin Jefferson and keeping the club more resilient than expected. With a transitioning roster, however, it’ll be tough for him to replicate, let alone build off, his debut.
Among NFC North coaches, at least, the Vikings head coach comes in second, trailing only Matt LaFleur in Green Bay. The Packers head coach was placed 11th on the list ahead of his fifth season with the team. This is set to be a huge test for Green Bay’s head coach as it will be his first season without four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears head coach, Matt Eberflus, ranks dead-last on the list, 32nd out of 32. Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions finds himself in 22nd ahead of his third season in the Motor City.
Back to O’Connell’s placement. Some hesitation regarding the Vikings in 2023 is certainly fair. They were 11-0 in one-possession games during 2022, a number that is almost certain to drop in 2023, and they lost some of the bigger names from their locker room such as Dalvin Cook, Eric Kendricks, Patrick Peterson, Za’Darius Smith, and Adam Thielen.
The thing O’Connell has going for him is that the Vikings offense, his area of expertise, was terrific in many areas during 2022. They ranked among the top seven teams in points, yards, and first downs last season. With another year of familiarity with a group that remains largely intact outside of Cook and Thielen, they could be even better this season.
However, the Vikings head coach cannot take zero blame for the defense ranking among the bottom of the league in just about every category and metric. At the very least, it was his decision to hire Ed Donatell to run the unit last season. With Brian Flores at the helm in 2023, hopefully the group improves by leaps and bounds, but with so much inexperience in the secondary, it could be a work-in-progress.
Regardless, though, O’Connell’s presence has been a great thing for the Vikings even over his short time in Minnesota. On the field, the offensive scheme looks much more fluid than it did over the final years of Mike Zimmer’s tenure, and the temperature in the locker room seems to be a much more comfortable one. Minnesota cannot ask for much more than what they’ve gotten out of their new head coach over the first year-plus of his tenure.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.