Kevin O’Connell was officially named the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings this week after spending two seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams. Amid his exit from the Rams, O’Connell heaped high praise for Sean McVay and how he hopes to build a similar environment with the Vikings.
Kevin O'Connell on Sean McVay: "He's had a huge impact on me… I've learned so much from him about the type of team and culture that I want to build. But he is truly a remarkable man, a remarkable leader, and I hope to bring a lot of those characteristics to our football team."
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) February 18, 2022
O’Connell, a former NFL quarterback, began his coaching career with the Cleveland Browns in 2015 as the team’s quarterbacks coach. Following a year with the San Francisco 49ers, O’Connell joined the Washington Commanders as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2017, the same year that McVay left Washington to become the head coach of the Rams.
Even though O’Connell never spent time with McVay in Washington, the two seemed to have a solid connection when McVay hired O’Connell in 2020 to be his first offensive coordinator since Matt LaFleur in 2017. In just his second year holding the offensive coordinator role in Los Angeles, O’Connell helped put together an offense around Matthew Stafford that proceeded to win a Super Bowl.
While McVay is the one who calls the plays, O’Connell still played a massive part in the success that the offense had this season. There’s no doubt that O’Connell’s experience as a quarterback in the NFL and previous experience as an assistant has helped lead him to a head coaching job in the league.
Everyone that has worked with McVay tends to speak about the culture and attitude he brings to the Rams. And with O’Connell’s work cut out for him to turn the Vikings into a contender in the NFC, the newly-hired head coach is hoping to bring some magic from the Rams to his new home.