Curt Cignetti and The Minnesota Vikings
In theory, Mike Zimmer was supposed to be the NFL version of Curt Cignetti.
Older, crusty, and too-often overlooked for a notable head coach position, Coach Zimmer appeared capable of ending the curse in Minnesota. The 2017 season was a special one for the Vikings, with the Minneapolis Miracle being an all-time great NFL playoff moment. In the end, Zim didn’t finish the job in the same way that Cignetti did. What about Kevin O’Connell and the current iteration of the Vikings?
Curt Cignetti & The Possibility of True Vikings Success
For good reason, Coach Cignetti has been burning up the football headlines, even going so far as to see one football writer consider what he eats at Chipotle.
Consider how the college coach sees his culinary order interact with his coaching approach, as relayed by Austin Green of The Athletic: “Much like his 16-0 Hoosiers, Cignetti’s bowl is simple and workmanlike in its execution — brown rice, black beans and chicken, with a side of guacamole (which Cignetti reportedly does not always include in his order). That’s it.”
Residing somewhere underneath the simplicity — “workmanlike in its execution” — is a hidden key about winning.
To my eye, Curt Cignetti succeeds largely due to an unusual commitment to competitive defiance. The outside world may possess a certain opinion of what the Hoosiers can do. Cignetti disagrees, stubbornly working toward proving all naysayers wrong.
Zimmer had some of that within him. And, to be sure, there was a time when the approach appeared successful.
Essentially nobody expected elite out of the Vikings of 2017. Sam Bradford was supposed to be the QB1 solution after an injury robbed Minnesota of Teddy Bridgewater as a QB1 solution. But then when Bradford was lost, as well, the pivot was toward Case Keenum.
In Keenum, the Vikings had a no-fear backup who gave his playmakers a chance. He functioned through a gunslinger mentality even though his arm talent wasn’t that of a gunslinger. The wild part? Just that the magic worked until running out in the NFC Championship against the Eagles.
Mike Zimmer had to settle for “almost.”
In Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings have pivoted away from the crusty style that dominates the approach from a Cignetti or a Zimmer. Much more charming and eloquent for the 6’5″ former NFL passer who burns up press conference time with answers that commonly get measured in minutes instead of seconds.
Can Coach O’Connell glean anything from the approach of these two?
If so, then it will be a stubborn commitment to pursuing a specific vision and path. Be bold and brash while cultivating a deep desire to compete. There’s risk in doing so since whiffing means failing spectacularly. But then there’s the upside if the bat hits the ball; swinging so hard means that the little white ball with red stitching gets sent into the stands.
O’Connell, in short, would do well to commonly articulate a “why-not-us?” defiance as he works toward ending the never-ending Super Bowl drought in Minnesota.
Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers will roll into 2026 as underdogs no more. Meanwhile, Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings will be looking to prove at the NFL level what Coach Cignetti proved at the collegiate level.
If the Indiana Hoosiers can do what they just did, then the Minnesota Vikings can develop into an NFL powerhouse.
