Kevin O’Connell Can Make One Tweak to Fix His Offense
There’s no denying that Kevin O’Connell absolutely knows how to call a passing offense. Some people have seemed to forget that, because the QB play in 2025 was so bad that it made everyone that’s involved with the offense look completely inept at their jobs.
Kevin O’Connell has deployed some very impressive passing offenses in his four-year tenure so far as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. His most-impressive work has to be the revitalization of Sam Darnold’s career, which also needs to be credited to the San Francisco 49ers a bit as well. The fact of the matter is that before Darnold came to Minnesota, he was a bust of a first overall pick, and had turned into a journeyman. He spent some time with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, then came to the Vikings, and completely turned his career around. Now, he’s a Super Bowl champion, and of course it’s not for Minnesota.
Notice how we’ve talked about O’Connell passing offense, but not his rushing offense. That’s where things need to get figured out.
Kevin O’Connell Needs to Figure Out the Run Game
Let’s take a look at the numbers in the running game under Kevin O’Connell since his arrival to the Twin Cities in 2022.
Vikings Total Rushing Yardage at End of Season (Rank Among NFL)
- 2022: 1,661 yards (27th)
- 2023: 1,553 yards (29th)
- 2024: 1,885 yards (19th)
- 2025: 1,841 yards (23rd)
And now, how about some efficiency metrics:
Vikings Total Yardage Per Carry of Each Season (Rank Among NFL)
- 2022: 4.1 yards (26th)
- 2023: 4 yards (23rd)
- 2024: 4.1 yards (23rd)
- 2025: 4.5 yards (12th)
Technically, the Vikings have at the least stayed the same on a year-to-year basis in their rushing efficiency. On the whole, the efficiency is actually trending up. While the yardage went down from 2024 to 2025, the efficiency is much better. That’s what poor QB play can do to your offense; completely tank it, which goes without saying. That’s not to say Kevin O’Connell has displayed a complete understanding of when to run the ball situationally, but a run game can’t produce when the offense can’t stay on script whatsoever.
The addition of Kyler Murray could open up the rushing game, not just for the running backs, but for the quarterback himself as well. I don’t need to go on about how much of a rushing threat Murray is. But for that reason, his legs will command attention, which could take attention off the running back. Additionally, that theoretically takes attention off of the wide receivers as well. NFL defenses are smart, though, and know that they must pay lots of attention to Justin Jefferson.
In short, while easier said than done, O’Connell needs to lean on those around him to know when to run the football. A few different play calls per game could lead to the Vikings actually controlling games, thus winning more games. It helps when you can complete a pass. too.
Kevin O’Connell Needs the Run Game to Improve for the Sake of His Employment
Even though O’Connell has deployed some great passing offenses, his lack of a run game has led to a lack of controlling the game. We’ve seen this in the middle of games, and certainly late in the season and in the playoffs.
O’Connell has definitely called in some backup, however. The Vikings hired Frank Smith, former OC of the Miami Dolphins, who played a major part in the development of De’Von Achane to star status. Additionally, Minnesota made a lot of other small maneuvers to insinuate that they’re taking the ground game seriously in 2026. The drafting of Max Bredeson and Demond Claiborne, retaining Aaron Jones, and signing Jauan Jennings (an elite receiving run-blocker) are just a few.
Kevin O’Connell needs a good year, as Nolan Teasley is in town now and basically had no ties to anyone in Minnesota before he got there. He isn’t going to be afraid to clean house, and if things don’t improve, then Kevin O’Connell could be part of the spring cleaning in 2027.
