Kevin O’Connell’s Golden Opportunity to Accomplish Something Mike Zimmer Never Did
K. Joudry
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Mike Zimmer, at times, was a fantastic head coach.
The season he put together in 2017 was nothing short of marvellous (playoff meltdown aside). Kevin O’Connell’s golden opportunity involves doing something Zim never accomplished (and I’m not talking about winning a Super Bowl, as remarkable as that would be).
One of the great shortcomings of Zim’s time in the purple saddle was that he could never steer his team to back-to-back division titles. In fact, he only snagged a single division title, occurring in 2017. Otherwise, he snuck into the playoffs a couple times as a wild card team while missing the tournament altogether in five different seasons.
After a single season on the job, Kevin O’Connell has already tied Zimmer for division titles (1) and most wins in a season (13). Where O’Connell can surpass his predecessor is in his potential to snag the North in consecutive seasons.
O’Connell’s Golden Opportunity for NFC North Supremacy
Climbing up to 13 wins in 2022 was an outcome that very few could foresee. True, Colin Cowherd made the brash prediction, but the vast majority thought that mediocrity or being pretty good was on the docket.
The best guess among both fans and analysts – at least if we could nail down what the majority believes – continues to be that the Vikings are just an average football team. Some elite talent, yes, but not enough to truly establish themselves among the league’s upper echelon. Even Kwesi Adofo-Mensah compared Minnesota to a mid-level stock after the latest season concluded.
Modest descriptions aside, the Vikings are gunning for the playoffs in the upcoming season. At long last, the Packers are without Aaron Rodgers, seemingly opening a pathway for the Vikings to assert themselves.
The other teams competing? Well, the Bears fully earned their last-place finish in 2022. Some great additions in the offseason will certainly make them a better team – D.J. Moore is an excellent receiver – but I’d have a hard time believing they’ll challenge for the division.
If the Packers take the expected step back (David Bakhtiari noted it’s possibly a rebuild year) and the Bears need more time to develop, the North comes down to a two-horse race: the Vikings and Lions. Somehow, Detroit actually has a strong football team.
More than a few people criticized their draft picks but that shouldn’t hide the fact the Dan Campbell has his group moving in the right direction. Part of me is happy for them even as I recognize that Detroit’s gain is Minnesota’s pain.
Can the Vikings defang the Lions? Truthfully, I find it hard to fully get behind Detroit since it has literally been decades since they won the division. The Vikings, complete with the depressing defensive shortcomings, should be considered the favorite to win the division.
The last time the Vikings won back-to-back division titles was in 2008 and 2009. Brad Childress was the head coach at the time. Since then, the team has had Leslie Frazier and Mike Zimmer lead the charge, neither of whom proved capable of putting together consecutive division titles.
What’s truly wild is that only a pair of Vikings head coaches have ever won the division in consecutive seasons: the great Bud Grant and then the aforementioned Childress. No one else has ever snagged the North in two-straight years.
If he can overcome a weaker division, Kevin O’Connell could do something that hasn’t happened since players like Kevin Williams, Ben Leber, Bernard Berrian, Steve Hutchinson, and Brett Favre were leading the team.
Once in the playoffs, O’Connell will then start pursuing a prize for the Vikings’ empty trophy case, something that has eluded every coach in team history.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
