Show him the money.
Despite going home early with a crushing playoff exit in the Wild Card Round, the Minnesota Vikings still experienced an abundance of success during the 2024 regular season. And coach Kevin O’Connell was rewarded for it.
The Vikings announced Tuesday they agreed to a multi-year contract extension with O’Connell. ESPN’s Senior NFL insider Adam Schefter noted the coach was scheduled to enter the final year of his deal in 2025 before this extension came to live.
This move puts to rest any questions about his immediate future after there was some speculation about him potentially being traded. For his part, O’Connell released a statement calling it “an absolute honor to continue leading the Minnesota Vikings.”
That the two sides came to terms on a deal follows a report from Schefter when he appeared on Friday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show and said he did not believe the coach would be dealt.
“I don’t see him getting traded,” Schefter said. “I think that the Wilf family is going to want to hold onto him. He’s going to be entering the last year of his deal. I think team’s that have coaches who they have identified as their future don’t typically let guys go into the last year of their deal so I would imagine in some point in the coming days, weeks, whatever it may be, that the Wilf family and Kevin O’Connell sit down and figure out an extension.”
Schefter emphasized the culture O’Connell helped create in the ‘Twin Cities’, which Vikings president Mark Wilf also confirmed in the team’s announcement regarding the new deal.
Embed from Getty Images“Kevin is exactly who we believed him to be when we named him as our head coach—an innovative play caller, an excellent communicator and a strong leader who motivates and connects with his players,” Wilf said. “He has helped establish a culture that positions us for sustained success, and he will continue to set the standard we need as we pursue a championship for Vikings fans.”
The 2024 campaign was O’Connell’s third at the helm of the Vikings after he was previously the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders. The 2021 Rams won the Super Bowl over the Cincinnati Bengals when he was the O.C., alongside coach Sean McVay, which surely caught the eye of Minnesota.
He has posted a 34-17 record in three-year stint with the Vikings and just turned in his best season with a 14-3 mark.
Yet the ending was a tough one to say the least, as Minnesota lost its Week 18 showdown against the Detroit Lions to determine the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC and then lost to the Rams 27-9 in Arizona in the NFC Wild Card Round the following Monday.
While the loss put a damper on some of the success during the regular season, O’Connell’s ability to squeeze all the juice out of talent of Sam Darnold stood out. The quarterback was 21-35 as a starter with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers prior to linking up with the NFC North team but thrived in O’Connell’s system while going 14-3 with the Vikings.
He completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions even though he was only starting because rookie J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury.
It was a demonstration of O’Connell’s ability to coach quarterbacks and offense as a whole, and now he will have the opportunity to continue doing so for the foreseeable future in Minnesota.
