The 3 Sins of Kevin O’Connell
When the Minnesota Vikings fired Mike Zimmer following the 2021 campaign, a second consecutive campaign without a playoff appearance, the brass decided to go in a different direction by hiring a young offensive mind.
The 3 Sins of Kevin O’Connell
Kevin O’Connell’s hire was delayed by the Rams’ postseason success, but the club still wanted Sean McVay’s disciple. Three years later, it’s obviously been a massive success, but three items on O’Connell’s Vikings resume can’t make the 40-year-old too happy.
Playoffs
In two of his three seasons as the franchise’s captain, O’Connell led them to the promised land: the playoffs. The one absence, of course, was with a quarterback carousel following Kirk Cousins’ injury.
One could argue that reaching the playoffs in those two seasons was already overachieving, but that’s not how the sport works. Ultimately, he has a 0-2 playoff record, and that can be used against him. Just like quarterbacks are measured by playoff success – just ask Kirk Cousins – head coaches are, too. Mike Tomlin hasn’t won a playoff game in nearly a decade, and his Steelers chair is warming up despite the phenomenal regular-season resume.
The Vikings qualified for postseason contests twice and then lost against beatable teams. It’s one thing to lose against absolute juggernauts, but neither the New York Giants in January of 2023 nor the Los Angeles Rams in 2025 were among the top contenders in the conference.
In one game, the defense fell apart, and the offense couldn’t outscore its opponent. In the other game, neither side of the ball looked particularly prepared.
Three years is still a relatively small sample size, but O’Connell needs to avoid a Marvin Lewis-esque career arc with respectable seasons ending in choking fashion.
Running Game
O’Connell is undoubtedly a master of the passing game, conducting explosive attacks with Cousins, but also with Sam Darnold and even Nick Mullens. The counterpart on the ground, however, has been a liability.
In the final season of his Vikings tenure, Dalvin Cook led O’Connell’s first backfield. He had some throwback plays, but throughout the season, he noticeably lost a step. Then, the Vikes moved on from Cook to backup Alexander Mattison, and he looked, well, like a backup. Last year, Aaron Jones was hired, and he was an upgrade, but the unit remained unimpressive.
Since O’Connell took over the purple team, the Vikings rank 27th in rushing yards, 29th in yards per carry, and 26th in rushing touchdowns. In EPA/run, the squad ranks 30th.
With the improved offensive line and the new duo of Jones and Jordan Mason, the Vikings either have a good running game or they have a problem because the head coach seemingly can’t command a balanced offense.
Detroit Curse
Another annoying item, the Vikings can’t beat the Detroit Lions. O’Connell’s Vikings are 34-17 in the regular season, but 1-5 against the rivals. The last five matchups were all lost after a nail-biting win in 2022.
Last season, the 5-0 Vikings lost at home against Detroit. It was a heavyweight fight between two fantastic teams, but QB Jared Goff and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson tore up Brian Flores’ defense.
In the second game, in one of the most anticipated games in NFL history, a Week 18 season finale for the top seed in the conference and the division crown, the Vikings completely fell apart on offense, and the defense could only hold up for one half of the game. Dan Campbell and his coordinators, Johnson and Aaron Glenn, had O’Connell’s number.
The good news is that those two coordinators took head coaching jobs elsewhere. The bad news is that the Lions should still be a decent football team, and the Vikings need to overcome that curse if they want to compete for Super Bowls.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.