By COURTNEY CRONIN. With their limited salary cap . Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports. He believes he's the best receiver in football -- I happen to agree with him -- and a lot goes with that. New Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said he is "excited to coach" quarterback Kirk Cousins in 2022 and is "anticipating" him being a part of the team's plans. And when I think about all that went into it, from a coaching staff standpoint, our players, our leadership of our core leaders and foundation of such a great leadership group that I was able to have in my first year as a head coach in the National Football League, I truly feel very fortunate and blessed," O'Connell added. INDIANAPOLIS If you walk around to different podiums and listen to NFL coaches speak to the media about their teams offseasons, you are likely to hear a lot about culture. 2023 Minnesota Vikings Football, LLC , All Rights Reserved. As a senior, he was named his team's Most Valuable Player, and selected to All-League, All-North County, and All-San Diego teams. 1. Theres a reason I feel so strongly about Kirk. He and Adofo-Mensah greet each prospect when they enter the room both to establish their culture of care and provide other Vikings staffers in the room a glimpse at the players size. But in Kevin OConnells case on Wednesday, he was able to beam about the Vikings culture after an NFL Players Association survey showed proof that he made good on the cultural promises he made at the last NFL Combine. While the survey is the ultimate feather in OConnells cap in terms of retaining players on long-term contracts and signing free agents, hes aware that not everyone is going to be able to return and the team doesn't have oodles of cap space to spend this offseason. The other was that the Vikings werent in a position to draft a quarterback, picking in the mid-20s for a majority of Greens tenure. It is something Ive thought a lot about.. Adofo-Mensah admitted his elevation to GM brought him more exposure to the human elements than when he was advancing through the research-and-development departments with the 49ers and Browns. In football, as a junior, he passed for 980 yards and seven touchdowns. The victories and records set on the way to winning the NFC North for the first time since 2017 enabled Minnesota to host a playoff game for the first time in five years, but that excitement ended abruptly Sunday when the Giants topped the Vikings 31-24. Aside from the quarterback situation which is like talking about building a house and saying other than the ground it stands on the Vikings will also consider the wants/needs/system of Brian Flores as they look for improvement on defense. Anchored by T Andrew Whitworth, the oldest offensive lineman in the NFL, the Rams offensive line only allowed 56 sacks in the two years O'Connell was in Los Angeles, which was good for the seventh-fewest among NFL clubs. Coming off a Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, O'Connell. So have expectations going forward, until "someday" can become "the day.". The New England Patriots selected O'Connell with their fourth pick (94th overall) in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. His net worth is somewhere between $30 million to $35 million. New Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, some two weeks after reaching an agreement with the club to replace Mike Zimmer, can finally wear some purple. Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell in Photos, Kevin OConnell Brings Energy, Innovation as Vikings New Head Coach, 5 Things to Know About New Vikings Head Coach Kevin OConnell. "He has a tremendous football IQ and is passionate about preparing, developing and communicating with his players. As a four-year captain at San Diego State, O'Connell finished his career after appearing in 40 games while ranking third in completions (664), fourth in passing yards (7,689) and fifth in passing touchdowns (46) in school history. One thing he knows is that no matter how many As he got in a survey or wins he posted as a first-year coach, that doesnt mean they can do it all again the same way and get the same results. "One of them said that she had been a long-time Vikings fan and always felt let down, and this team felt different to her," Adofo-Mensah said. O'Connell compared Cousins to Matthew Stafford, calling each an "elite thrower," via Tomasson (on Twitter ). There was a mixed reaction to that pick. Quarterbacks are never far from OConnells mind. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. In 2019, O'Connell helped guide rookie WR Terry McLaurin to 58 receptions, 919 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, the second-most receptions and third-most receiving yards and touchdowns among rookies in franchise history. I think theres a conversation to be had to really see what that looks like: playing time and roles and responsibilities., "I feel better than I ever have about our chances moving forward." He was also born in Minnesota. In the early 1990s, Dennis Green used a revolving quarterback carousel that featured Jim McMahon, Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, and Jeff George. Wide receiver Adam Thielens cap number and age (32) present another complicated decision, and OConnell is mindful of the many factors. O'Connell has an older sister, Kelly, who is an attorney. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. But Minnesota watched as Cam Newton, Jake Locker, and Blaine Gabbert flew off the board. Facebook Twitter Coming off a Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, O'Connell joins the Vikings after serving as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams the past two seasons. Looking back on Vikings history, they have stumbled trying to find a franchise quarterback. Fired up to watch these guys this fall @b_petty14 @DWatford5 @EverettGolson @Connor_Cook03 @tannerlee12 @bharrisqb1 pic.twitter.com/2TNR1YJlHt OConnell said he values the way the aforementioned players embraced his hiring last year and appreciates the way they helped bring about an entirely new culture. And none of the endings feature everyone who was around last year. As we did on Tuesday with Vikings general manager Kwesi. Conversely, when the Vikings ran for zero or negative yards on first down, something they did more than any other team in the league aside from the Jaguars, they would then be fighting uphill. At the end of the day Wednesday, the Vikings head coach left the building with one of the easier media sessions youll ever run across in the NFL. And I also want my opportunity to show that I can play at a high level. He reiterated that he is proud of the way Cousins played in 2022 and is looking forward to seeing the 34-year-old build on things in 2023. He recently coached Stafford to a Super Bowl win, helping him post a 4-0 record in the postseason and 108.3 passer rating, which trailed only QB Josh Allen and QB Patrick Mahomes. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. O'Connell won his first game as head coach against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1 of the 2022 season by a score of 237. Follow Alec on Twitter @alec_lewis. Adofo-Mensah had to explain how the Vikings, a team in salary cap hell, were going to shed salary while building off the teams first 13-win season since 2017. So how will he balance the desire to maximize the benefits of the culture, keep the players who helped him implement it and improve on last season while dealing with the facts of life in a salary cap league? The Vikings are coming off a 13-win season, but also a disappointing first-round exit in the playoffs. A significant part of the positive culture was OConnell and Cousins working together in lockstep. To see the rest of the Kevin O'Connell's contract breakdowns, & gain access to all of Spotrac's Premium tools, sign up today. How do you go forward building it from here? He categorized the current state of rushing in the NFL into three separate strategies: deploying a running quarterback, operating in the run-pass option world, and going the traditional route with run-pass deception from under center. [27][28] O'Connell's Vikings hiring reunited him with quarterback Kirk Cousins, whom O'Connell had coached in 2017 (Cousins' final year with the Washington Redskins). O'Connell played quarterback at San Diego State University, and was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Adofo-Mensah, who previously worked on Wall Street, was asked to assess where the Vikings stock is. Predictability, then, provides comfort to defenses. "We have to make sure we do it in an order that we can do it in given all the other decisions we have to make.". [13] The injury required surgery. In terms of the things that were different in 2022, the most noticeable were the approach to camp and preseason workloads, managing injuries and how players who were recovering from injuries were talked about publicly and the buy-in to quarterback Kirk Cousins. Since O'Connell became an offensive coordinator in 2019, he has coached one Super Bowl MVP (Kupp), two Pro Bowlers (G Brandon Scherff and Kupp), one All-Pro (Kupp) and one PFWA All-Rookie Team member (McLaurin). Michigan cornerback DJ Turner II is the early leader for fastest player at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine after posting a time of 4.26 seconds in the 40-yard dash on Friday. There are a few fundamental things that will influence decisions, starting with whether Cousins signs an extension. Login Here. [4] He was the Kai team quarterback in the 2008 Hula Bowl, where he led the offense and was one of the Kai team's only bright spots. Prior to joining the Rams, O'Connell worked in Washington, serving as the quarterbacks coach in 2017-18 and the offensive coordinator in 2019. Sure, there were unsightly losses along the way, including a couple of regular-season defeats to Philadelphia and Dallas teams that each won 12 plus in the regular season and have advanced to the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs. O'Connell also played for the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and San Diego Chargers before retiring in 2012. Minnesotas approach to their franchise quarterback seems much more scientific. That OConnell even cited this statistic demonstrates the team is thinking about how to fully maximize its offense. The Vikings were unable to officially announce that they were hiring O'Connell until after Los Angeles' playoff run came to an end. O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah have emphasized collaboration throughout their first year together, and the first-time head coach picked up where the first-time GM left off: "As I told our team it's supposed to sting. One element of his teams play that must improve? Culpeppers injury took the Vikings into another dark period where they took a quarterback because they needed one. Sometimes how you have to mold and adapt how you play while still staying true to your football philosophy at its core and its not always easy to do, but hes demonstrated that hes been very successful doing it time and time again.. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. 4. OConnell explained Wednesday that that process ranged from reviewing game-management decisions to gauging his teams success in various schemes and plays. Minnesota Vikings new head coach Kevin O'Connell takes over a club that missed the postseason the past two seasons with losing records and hasn't won the NFC North since 2017.
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