Kevin O’Connell Isn’t Going to Budge
Kevin O’Connell comes across as an affable, charming guy. He should also come across as someone who is quite stubborn.
The Vikings’ head coach has a vision and is willing to stick to it (not too dissimilar from GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah). If the determination is that J.J. McCarthy needs more time — as is the case, per the top coach — then Minnesota will proceed accordingly. Even if the outside noise gets loud, criticism mounts, and the team stumbles, the Vikings will follow the path that has been set before them, largely due to O’Connell’s willingness to stick to his guns.
Kevin O’Connell Will Not Budge
Sometimes, the NFL is a place where words don’t mean much.
Coaches can talk about belief in a player before then doing something directly contrary to what was said. The coach claims confidence but then doesn’t kick over playing time. Sure, there’s optimism and praise for growth. But then reality hits and the player just isn’t factored into the mix in a major manner.
A general manager can do likewise, discussing someone’s importance without carving out financial resources to retain the player praised.
In Minnesota, however, there doesn’t appear to be the issue. Or, at least, there’s some reason to believe that Kevin O’Connell’s words mean something. The reason why is because he has commonly backed up the verbal with the actual as words get put into action.
One thinks of Christian Darrisaw.
All along, there has been an emphasis on doing right by the player, slowly bringing the LT1 back according to the prescribed plan. We saw evidence of the coach sticking to the plan with Darrisaw being inactive to begin the season. And then there was the critical Week 5 game, a contest where the offensive line was already depleted. From within that context, the Vikings placed Darrisaw on the bench since it was best for his injury recovery.
Consider, as well, the decision to put Jordan Addison on the bench.
The star receiver messed up, missing some of the week’s preparation. O’Connell could have turned a blind eye, giving the WR2 a verbal slap on the wrist while leaning on him to help in the pivotal Browns game. Again, though, there is a coach willing to put actions behind words.
Stubborn. To be sure, a good type of stubborn, but stubborn.
When Kevin O’Connell says that McCarthy needs both full health and a full workload, we should listen. Carson Wentz hasn’t been inspiring too much optimism. There is, after all, a reason why he has become a veteran journeyman, tasked with backup duties around the NFL. In the end, that’s not going to matter for Week 8. Wentz is yet again being leaned on to start.
Admittedly, Kevin O’Connell is walking along a tightrope.
Inherent to the path that O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah have chosen is a difficult balancing act. There was no roster strip down and reset. Rather, there was an effort to reload things while journeying down the path, competing the whole way. The same impulse is at work within the decision making surrounding J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz.
Long term, McCarthy is the man. Nothing about the topsy-turvy beginning to the year has changed that outlook. As a result, there’s a willingness to suffer short-term setbacks in the name of long-term success. How that’s manifesting itself is in letting the sophomore to sit longer than most want. Allow Wentz to absorb these difficult, short weeks since McCarthy is tasked with being the franchise passer.
As Thursday Night Football nears, Wentz is again being leaned on as the starter. Whether he sinks or swims remains to be seen, but it’s at least somewhat notable that Minnesota has been trading wins for losses, always responding to the week before by doing the opposite (a Week 1 win means a Week 2 loss, a Week 2 loss means a Week 3 win, and so on). By that unscientific standard, Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings should come out of Week 8 as winners.
What’s very clear through the ups and downs is that the Vikings’ top coach is going to stick to what he believes is in the best interest of the team. Both the short- and ling-term objectives are going to get stirred around within the cauldron of decision, but the coach isn’t going to allow outside noise to dictate the terms.
The Vikings, a 3-3 football team, will be taking on the 4-3 Chargers tomorrow night. Kevin O’Connell’s team may not be very good, but few (if any) could claim that they’re a boring bunch.
