The Kevin O’Connell Staring Contest is Just Getting Started
Kevin O’Connell doesn’t get labelled as being stubborn very often. Since 2022, Coach O’Connell has proven that he can be.
Minnesota’s offseason plan involved low-balling the in-house quarterback options — Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones — while rejecting all other suitors for the QB1 job. J.J. McCarthy was always going to be the favorite to become the starter, a reality that ended up becoming a reality. Not even a public flirtation with Aaron Rodgers could get Minnesota’s top coach to blink. Just how much longer is the staring contest going to take place?
Kevin O’Connell Still Locked in a QB1 Staring Contest
What happens if things go poorly in Week 9? Is there a desperation pivot at the game’s most important position? Options such as Kirk Cousins and Mac Jones have been considered, at least within online NFL chatter.
Minnesota is sitting on a disappointing 3-4 record, in no small part due to what has taken place at quarterback. Prior to injury, McCarthy mostly played poor football. Injury fill-in Carson Wentz had some strong moments, but he, too, succumbed to playing bad football more often than not. The Vikings’ beefy investments across the roster haven’t rewarded the team with the ability to overcome poor quarterbacking.
The good news is that McCarthy’s ankle appears to be at 100%. Or, at the very least, close enough to full health that Minnesota is willing send him back onto the field, mercifully ending the Wentz experiment.
Kevin O’Connell’s task now involves maintaining his commitment to McCarthy. For so long, Coach O’Connell has been willing to both talk the talk and walk the walk. The No. 10 selection was the starter, a truth that hasn’t changed. Will that remain so if there are some hiccups once back onto the field?
Make no mistake: the Vikings are facing pressure.
Neither of Kevin O’Connell nor Kwesi Adofo-Mensah are on the hot seat. The former is coming off a Coach of the Year win. Meanwhile, the latter has assembled an impressive roster, albeit one that is falling well short of expectations. These two aren’t going to be fired even if the season finishes off as a losing one, but they will face ample criticism. That’s what happens in an NFL that often sees patience vanish fast.
Further ratcheting up the pressure is the status of Justin Jefferson, someone who is justifiably frustrated by the performance of his team. Frankly, it’s wild that Jefferson has been as patient as he has been. The Hall of Fame receiver (someday) deserves far better from his Vikings; being angry about the performance of his team is both sensible and deserved.
The mounting external criticism, the frustration from the NFL’s WR1, and several other factors turn up the heat on Kevin O’Connell. Will he stick by his sophomore passer through thick and thin?
McCarthy, as so many have pointed out, has played one great quarter of football. Otherwise, there have been seven clunkers. Continuing to oscillate between seven quarters of being a dud while offering one quarter of being a stud is going to test O’Connell’s patience.
Proving capable of overcoming poor quarterback play would give Kevin O’Connell a lot more leeway. The problem is that the Vikings have proven that the fantasy of a roster so formidable that a quarterback could struggle while Minnesota still wins has proven to be just that: a fantasy. Sooner rather than later, J.J. McCarthy needs to be the engine rather than just a hood ornament.
Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings take on the Lions in Week 9. The game is taking place inside Ford Field, meaning the sophomore passer will be forced to overcome a loud, hostile crowd to push his Vikings up to .500. Even worse is that former Wolverine Aidan Hutchinson is going to look to make his life difficult. Kickoff for the Vikings at Lions is 12 p.m. CT on Sunday, November 2nd.
Kevin O’Connell will need to keep proving his loyalty to his young quarterback, a task that will become considerably easier if J.J. McCarthy starts playing strong football.
