Tag: Kevin O’Connell

SKOL Search: Post Senior Bowl mailbag

The Vikings Wire’s Tyler Forness answers fans questions on trade speculation and possible draft moves.

Over the course of the offseason, there won’t be a shortage of content, stories or potential happenings surrounding the Minnesota Vikings. As we continue to progress throughout the next few months, every so often I will be doing a mailbag discussing the happenings surrounding the purple and gold.

Today’s mailbag will be focusing mainly on the fallout of the Senior Bowl, the NFL Draft and the coaching staff turnover post-Mike Zimmer. After each major event in the offseason calendar (or every few weeks), I will be doing one of these to answer any questions that you might have regarding current events. Without further ado, let’s jump right into the questions.

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5 ex-Jets looking to win Super Bowl LVI

A few former Jets players and coaches will be part of Super Bowl LVI when the Rams face the Bengals.

Super Bowl LVI will feature a small shade of green.

Five former Jets – players and coaches – will help the Rams or Bengals this weekend. All will likely stay on the sidelines, but each is looking for a ring nonetheless. On Sunday, they’ll come closer than they ever would have with New York.

Let’s take a look at five ex-Jets who will be in the Super Bowl.

Kevin O’Connell reportedly ‘high’ on Kirk Cousins as Vikings QB

O’Connell likes what he’s seen from Captain Kirk.

Kevin O’Connell loves the idea of Kirk Cousins being his quarterback when taking over the coaching reins for the Minnesota Vikings.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the soon-to-be hired head coach was “high” on Cousins throughout his interview process with the team.

So his vision for the Vikings appears to be one with Captain Kirk remaining the leading man under center.

“Soon-to-be Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell conveyed a firm belief in Kirk Cousins during the interview process, I’m told. He’s high on him. The front office must decide on Cousins’ future due to his $45M cap hit, but many coaches interviewing for job liked Cousins, O’Connell included,” Fowler posted on Monday.

The last line in Fowler’s post is the most eye-opening considering the revolving door of coaching candidates involved in the hiring process for the Vikings.

For all of the negativity surrounding Cousins’ bloated contract, it’s clear that he’s a solid option to have at the quarterback position. Having worked with him in Washington, O’Connell knows exactly what he’s getting when he reports to Minnesota after Super Bowl LVI.

If anything, this report is more proof that Cousins and the Vikings will try to work towards a restructured contract to keep him in Minnesota for the foreseeable future.

There aren’t a lot of better options out there to replace him right now.

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Kevin O’Connell hire keeps Vikings QB Kirk Cousins safe, for now

Cousins isn’t going anywhere with Kevin O’Connell as the head coach.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins no longer has to sleep with one eye open with Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell slated to become the next head coach for the Minnesota Vikings. The plan is slowly coming to fruition in Minnesota, and although the picture remains incomplete, it’s easy to put two-and-two together and see where things are headed.

By the time the 2022 NFL season rolls around, Captain Kirk will still be the man sitting in the Vikings command chair.

O’Connell served as his quarterbacks coach back in 2017 in his final year with the Washington Commanders. So the two have worked closely together in the past. Vikings running back Dalvin Cook even alluded to it over the weekend at the Pro Bowl when asked to share his thoughts on O’Connell as a head coach.

“[O’Connell] was with Kirk in Washington, so Kirk has been kind of telling me, ‘Great guy to be around. Full of energy. Going to bring the energy,’’’ Cook said on the NFL Network. “So I’m just looking forward to it. It’s a new opportunity, new era, new energy, so we got to take advantage of it. … We got a new head man, we got a new GM, so we just got to put the right people around us, and we just got to go get it.”

If it looks like duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then Cousins is probably staying put in Minnesota.

It’s clear the team wanted to take a significant swerve in regards to the hard-nosed, old school and mostly defensive coaching mentality that has reigned over the organization for over a decade. O’Connell will come in bursting at the seams with new energy and an established working relationship with Cousins.

If there’s any young candidate capable of hitting the ground running in Minnesota, O’Connell is the clear choice to be able to do it.

Cousins’ contract is an eyesore when looking at the Vikings’ salary cap situation, but it’s the perfect time for the two sides to agree on a restructured deal to keep him a Viking. He gives the team the best opportunity to compete right away, and he can serve as a solid placement quarterback, while the Vikings continue their never-ending search for a young diamond to stand among the elite signal callers in the league.

Even if they did manage to trade Cousins, they’d still have to absorb significant dead money on a contract with a $45 million cap hit in 2022, which is the third-highest among NFL quarterbacks. It starts to make even less sense when looking at the other options out there. Would a trade for a Baker Mayfield or even Carson Wentz really make the Vikings better? It could put the team in an even worse situation.

Cousins threw for 4,221 yards, 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions this season. There are a lot of teams out there that would have been happy with that sort of production on their roster.

Look, everyone would love to have a Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, but those players are once-in-a-generation talents.

They don’t grow on trees.

O’Connell should be able to get the most out of the offense, and assuming newly-hired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah handles free agency efficiently and has a strong draft, the team could be on the fast track to success.

At the very least, Cousins is still the guy in Minnesota, for now.

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Former Browns coaches could join Kevin O’Connell’s staff

Browns and Vikings already have three top-level connections, could O’Connell bring in coaches from the 2015 Browns staff, his first year as a coach?

The Cleveland Browns already have three high-level direct connections to the Minnesota Vikings going into the 2022 NFL season.

  • Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski spent over a decade with the Vikings before taking the job in Cleveland.
  • Minnesota GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah just spent two seasons with the Browns before being hired by the Vikings for their top job.
  • Finally, former Browns QB coach Kevin O’Connell is expected to be announced as the team’s head coach following the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl appearance.

That may not be the end of the two team’s connections. Adofo-Mensah could look to raid the Cleveland front office but those moves generally happen after the NFL draft.

O’Connell could look to his past with the Browns to find some of his coaching staff. During his one season with the team in 2015, O’Connell was under offensive coordinator John DeFilippo who had just replaced Kyle Shanahan.

DeFilippo has bounced around the league quite a bit since his one year in Cleveland, last as the Chicago Bears QB coach under Matt Nagy. He has already spent time with the Vikings where he was replaced in-season as offensive coordinator by Stefanski. A return to Minnesota might be a tough fit but possible under a new regime.

Joker Phillips was also on that 2015 Browns staff but returned to the college ranks, where he spent a majority of his career, after not being retained.

O’Connell’s head coach Mike Pettine could be the most likely reunion in Minnesota. The former defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers has been linked to the Vikings defensive coordinator position:

Pettine spent three seasons with the Packers before being let go and spent last year helping Nagy with the Bears.

Vikings expected to hire former Browns coach Kevin O’Connell as head coach

The expected hiring of KOC by the Vikings makes 3 former Browns coaches getting their first shot as head coaches in 2022:

The Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings may be tied together for the foreseeable future. It started when the Browns hired long-time Vikings coach Kevin Stefanski as their head coach before the 2020 season. Stefanski went on to lead Cleveland to the playoffs his first year and win Coach of the Year.

Two years later, the Vikings hired Browns executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to be their new general manager. Adofo-Mensah beat out a number of other contenders for the position this offseason and should give Cleveland additional draft picks for his hiring. Those extra picks should help the Browns build around Baker Mayfield who they expect to have a “bounce back year” in 2022.

Now comes word that former Cleveland quarterback’s coach Kevin O’Connell will be hired by Minnesota as their next head coach:

O’Connell’s first coaching job was with the Browns in 2015. Prior to that, he had bounced around the league after being drafted in the third round by the New England Patriots. As a player, O’Connell only played in two games and attempted six passes.

After his one-year stint in Cleveland, O’Connell was on staff with the San Fransisco 49ers in 2016 where he crossed paths with Adofo-Mensah, who was also with the team.

With the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl, Minnesota will have to wait to make his announcement official. O’Connell has been the Rams offensive coordinator under Sean McVay for the past two seasons after holding that role in Washington for one season.

Earlier in this hiring cycle, former Browns coach Brian Daboll also got his first head coaching job with the New York Giants and former linebackers coach (2009-2010) Matt Eberflus got his first head job with the Chicago Bears.

Jags HC candidates watch: Kevin O’Connell expected to land with Vikings

Kevin O’Connell’s chances to be the Jags’ next coach seemed low to begin with, but they are now closer to zero.

The Jacksonville Jaguars randomly developed interest in Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell this past weekend, but it appears they won’t even get a chance to speak with him. According to multiple reports, he’s expected to land with the Minnesota Vikings after the Super Bowl to become their new head coach.

The Jags didn’t have O’Connell on their initial list of candidates to interview and missed out on the early postseason window to speak with him. As a result, they needed the Los Angeles Rams to lose this weekend to even get a chance to speak with him, but even with that being the case, their chances seemed low to land him as the Vikings, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans all spoke with him.

O’Connell worked with Jags general manager Trent Baalke his last season with the San Francisco 49ers (2016) as the former was a special projects assistant and the latter had his current title. Baalke has had a hard time finding coaches willing to work with him due to his reputation and it’s made the Jags search the most puzzling in the league. That said, it seems he wanted to take a swing at a familiar face, though it’s unknown how O’Connell viewed the Jags’ opening.

It’s possible O’Connell’s situation could speed things up for the Jags, as they’ve been looking for a coach for over a month. It appears Doug Pederson may be the front-runner after getting a second interview this week, according to multiple reports. Additionally, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo said he believes the former Philly Eagles coach could be looking to link up with former Minnesota executive Rick Spielman, who interviewed with the Jags this week, too. 

Byron Leftwich, who is a fan favorite, could still be in the mix, too. However, with Spielman having some familiarity with Pederson (sharing the same agent), most think they have a better chance of being the newest additions to the team.

Are the Texans about to lose out on hiring Rams OC Kevin O’Connell as coach?

The Minnesota Vikings have interest in Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. Are the Houston Texans at risk of losing out?

The Houston Texans have another team to contend with if they want the services of Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell.

According to Adam Schefter from ESPN, O’Connell has become a favorite in the Minnesota Vikings’ coaching search.

The Vikings fired Mike Zimmer at the end of the 2021 campaign when Minnesota finished 8-9, marking the second consecutive season the Vikings posted a losing record and failed to make the playoffs.

With Minnesota going in a new direction, they are taking on candidates, and O’Connell is a fascinating prospect. Although he is in his second season at his post with the Rams, Los Angeles has gone to the playoffs the past two years, and he has worked with both Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford.

The Vikings will have to work within the framework the NFL outlines of assistants on Super Bowl teams interviewing with other clubs. In that regard, the Vikings are working with the same limitations as the Texans. However, the Texans have a more complete offense and a couple defensive standouts on their roster. Minnesota has the feel of a club that needs a fresh perspective while Houston is still a rebuild after winning a total of eight games over the past two years.

Report: Vikings expected to hire Kevin O’Connell as next head coach

The Vikings have their man!

Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell is expected to be the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Wednesday night that the Vikings had informed New York Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris they were out in the search.

With the news of Jim Harbaugh returning to Michigan, O’Connell is officially the last finalist standing for the job.

Per Pelissero, a deal can’t be finalized until after Super Bowl LVI, which means there will still be some time before everything is official.

But it would seem as if the new regime is finally in place, and surprisingly enough, it’s composed of a first-time general manager in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and a soon-to-be first-time head coach in O’Connell.

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Is Rams OC Kevin O’Connell still a target for the Texans?

The Los Angeles Rams are headed to the Super Bowl. Is Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell still a target for the Houston Texans?

The Los Angeles Rams are headed to the Super Bowl to face the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Houston Texans still don’t have a coach.

The Rams do have a target the Texans are interested in: offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. The second-year coordinator under coach Sean McVay is also reportedly a target for the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, the Texans already have an edge over the Jaguars.

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Jaguars aren’t able to officially interview O’Connell because they did not conduct their first interview with him during the week leading up to the divisional playoffs. As such, the Jaguars can’t talk to O’Connell until after the Super Bowl on Feb. 13.

A team that was able to conduct an interview with O’Connell during divisional playoff week — according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter — were the Texans, although the Texans’ official coaching tracker on their website does not list O’Connell as a candidate.

If O’Connell is actually the candidate and the Texans aren’t yet able to officially hire him until after the Rams are out of the playoffs, it would make sense why the organization is continuing to interview candidates with no realistic chance such as Josh McCown. Houston is keeping up the appearance of continuing a coaching search when they actually have their guy, but can’t announce it just yet.

O’Connell is an offshoot of the Mike Shanahan coaching tree, which is where Gary Kubiak, former Texans coach, came from. McVay worked on Shanahan’s Washington staff from 2010-13 and ultimately landed the Rams job in 2017. O’Connell joined the Rams in 2020 as the offensive coordinator having previous worked in Washington from 2017-19. Going to O’Connell would be a return to what has previously worked in Texans history and could be the offense to help quarterback Davis Mills in his second year.