Kevin O’Connell Questionably Snubbed
Here is a public service announcement and reminder for all, but specifically directed at Pro Football Focus: Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell won NFL Coach of the Year. Four months ago. In the most recent season of NFL football.
I really don’t know what’s going on at PFF lately. I know most like to rag on them, but I never really have been one to do so, because I believe that there aren’t too many better statistical and analytical resources than Pro Football Focus.
However, a couple of the most recent PFF articles have been absolute embarrassments when it comes to analyzing the Minnesota Vikings. Yes, this is the Vikings website. Yes, I am a Vikings fan. No, there is no way in this universe that the reigning NFL Coach of the Year should be left off of a top 10 NFL head coaches ranking.
Kevin O’Connell Weirdly Snubbed from Top 10 NFL HC List
Andy Reid ahead of him? Absolutely, I understand.
John Harbaugh, Nick Sirianni, Sean McVay, Dan Campbell? I still understand.
Sean Payton? Ok, I respect what he’s done in Denver, and he has a winning pedigree, despite my heavy dislike for the man. Second on the list is a little crazy, though..
Kyle Shanahan? Sure, one bad year last season, so I guess I understand if we’re weighing the past in these rankings.
Jim Harbaugh? Alright, let’s settle down.
Kevin Stefanski? You’ve completely lost me, and I love Kevin Stefanski and completely believe that the Browns’ organization has sabotaged the man basically since he stepped through the doors. Stefanski did win the NFL Coach of the Year Award in 2023, the year before Kevin O’Connell, but what O’Connell did in 2024 with Sam Darnold trumps what Stefanski has done lately, his fault or not.
Mike Tomlin? You’ve lost me further. Tomlin’s claim to fame over the last decade has been having a “winning record” every season. Impressive, sure, if that’s how you measure true NFL success, and that’s coming from a Vikings fan. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season (for perspective, that’s the year the Vikings had Sam Bradford at the helm, started 5-0, and finished 8-8), so it’s been a while. Pittsburgh hasn’t gone anything resembling “deep” since the final pieces of Bill Cowher’s team faded away into the sunset.
Sorry for the harsh words, Steelers fans, but I personally know a few “yinzers” who agree with me, and much more passionately. See ya in Dublin, Mike.
PFF’s Top 10 HC List is Weird as a Whole
The placement of the coaches on this list is really weird, and not just because of the lack of a Kevin O’Connell appearance.
Andy Reid deservedly gets first, but Sean Payton getting second is pretty questionable in my opinion. Mike Tomlin gets fifth, Jim Harbaugh gets sixth, Nick Sirianni falls to 8th after clobbering who PFF claims is the best head coach in the NFL in the Super Bowl only four months ago, and Dan Campbell is ninth. I would completely expect the top five to consist of some order of Reid, Campbell, Sirianni, McVay, and Kevin O’Connell coming off a Coach of the Year Award, but this is PFF, and they always keep you on your toes.
Main Arguments to Leave KOC Off the List
If there are any legs for PFF to stand on here, it’s the lack of postseason success that the Vikings have seen under Kevin O’Connell. Minnesota has been one of the weirdly successful teams during the regular season since 2022, when O’Connell inked a deal to become the franchise’s head coach, consistently winning games that they shouldn’t, thus, putting them in big-time letdown spots in the first round of the playoffs in the years of 2022 and 2024.
Also working against O’Connell in this list is his record against the ten coaches listed on it. Against the ten coaches featured, Kevin O’Connell is a combined 2-12, with his only victories both coming against Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 and 2024. He is 0-10 against the other nine coaches, including a 0-6 record against Detroit Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell. O’Connell has never coached against Mike Tomlin, Kevin Stefanski, or either of the Harbaugh brothers.
Still Weird Afterall to Leave COTY Out of the League’s Best
Still, the man who just won the Coach of the Year for the most recent season, failing to even be mentioned in a list ranking the top 10 coaches in the NFL, feels completely disrespectful towards him and the Vikings organization. I don’t know what the Wilf family did to Cris Collinsworth and his company, but it must not have been great, given the recent disrespect hurled toward the Minnesota Vikings Football Club.
Vikings Linebackers Get Some Love
