Kevin O’Connell Never Stood a Chance
Last year, Kevin O’Connell tried (and failed) to insist that J.J. McCarthy wasn’t the locked-in starter for the Minnesota Vikings.
Bringing things closer to the present moment involves seeing the skipper failing yet again. He’ll tell anyone within earshot that there’s a competition taking place, but one that will need to wait until later in the offseason. Presently, the focus is class on the grass, teaching players things such as good technique alongside the intricacies of the scheme. Few, if any, are listening.
Kevin O’Connell is Getting Through to Nobody
Now, in full fairness, the NFL is a business first and foremost. What matters most is piquing and sustaining people’s interest. The official NFL social media account therefore offered the following:
What you see above, folks, is a beautiful example of juxtaposition. Layered on top of each other are twin videos of the main passers in the Twin Cities. Newcomer (and heavy favorite to start in Week 1) is Kyler Murray; he’s seen up top. Down below is the returner, Mr. J.J. McCarthy. The kid is 23 and already entering his third NFL season. Believers are dwindling as more and more people lineup to call him a draft bust.
Mercifully, the online discussion of Carson Wentz being in town to push for a starting job has mostly died. He’s viewed as an excellent QB3, a veteran shepherd to guide the top competitors while being capable of starting if disaster strikes. Don’t miss those final words: if disaster strikes.
What remains is a slugfest featuring Murray and McCarthy. Kevin O’Connell has been saying for a while that the competition hasn’t really started since that’s not the emphasis in May OTAs. Do you believe him? Not many do, and for good reason.
Go ahead and read about Bud Grant. The all-time great coach was always evaluating. O’Connell almost certainly does likewise even if his point is well taken that the process is still quite early. The wise observer will therefore exercise caution while nevertheless ignoring O’Connell’s public insistence that the competition isn’t quite rolling.
Consider what Ben Leber, the former Vikings linebacker and current team analyst, had to say: “One side by side clip of JJ & Kyler on Day 1 of OTAs and a million QB coaches awake from their offseason slumber. Football is back baby!!”
Leber is exactly right. People are overreacting to the video. Of that there is no doubt. But while some are going too far with the few seconds of footage, there’s a danger in going to the other extreme: thinking that what takes place right now doesn’t matter at all in the race toward starting in Week 1 of the 2026 regular season.
At the end of the day, the Vikings still maintain hope that J.J. McCarthy becomes the starter. The kid boasts good size, youth, talent aplenty, and was the No. 10 pick for a reason. Minnesota believed it was drafting a franchise quarterback, a perspective that has taken an uppercut punch but that’s still capable of getting off the mat.
What’s changed, though, is the beefiness of the competition. Maybe ongoing health for McCarthy would have resulted in another unchallenged push for the QB1 spot, but the quarterback missed a pile of time as a sophomore after missing all of his rookie season. At minimum, a good player needed to be added. Kyler Murray isn’t perfect, but he has the potential to be great.
The Vikings’ quarterback battle may not be at its most intense, but it’s an ongoing competition no matter how much Kevin O’Connell tries to insist otherwise.
