Kevin O’Connell comes across as being down to earth, charming, and approachable. Seeing him call out the media is thus a bit noteworthy.
Now, we should note that there wasn’t much (if any) bitterness or spite in his tone. Rather, there was an affable confidence about his team’s ability to overcome outside skepticism. O’Connell was chatting with The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, reflecting on a question about whether the Minnesota Vikings are in a championship window. By the time the answer finished, O’Connell had passed along a bit of a shot at the media.
Kevin O’Connell & The Media’s Vikings Assessment
“Me?” That was Pelissero’s question with joking incredulity. Was he similarly guilty of the infraction of underestimating the Vikings going into 2024?
First, though, consider what O’Connell had to say: “Our jobs are to make sure schematically and football-wise we make it work. We’ve got great resources to make sure we stay healthy. We prepare our team the right way. And ultimately what that leads to, Tom, is a chance to be competitive week-in and week-out. Even when maybe others don’t always see our team the same way, à la a year ago where folks like yourself thought we’d finish in the cellar of the division.”
After Pelissero asked if he was implicated alongside other outside voices, O’Connell chuckled and clarified, “No, you were always great.” The whole exchange was friendly but it did confirm that Minnesota’s head coach had at least taken note of the outside opinion.
Going into the 2024 regular season, the Minnesota Vikings encountered significant doubt.
After all, the team was transitioning toward Sam Darnold, someone who had proved very little in his NFL career. Yes, some of the additions on defense looked positive — Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, and Stephon Gilmore (among others) — and the signing of Aaron Jones was savvy, but there was still a lot that needed to be proven. Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter were gone. Did Minnesota do enough to replace them?
Making matters even worse was the injury to J.J. McCarthy. All of the sudden, the Vikings lost their backup plan at quarterback. If Darnold struggled, then the option would be to turn to Nick Mullens, a great backup but someone who may struggle to keep the ship afloat on a weekly basis.
Of course, the Vikings overcame the odds, piling up 14 wins behind some (mostly) excellent play from Mr. Darnold and some brilliant coaching from O’Connell plus Brian Flores. In fact, O’Connell earned Coach of the Year honors for pushing his team so far beyond expectations.
The focus now shifts to the 2025 season. Not only do the Vikings want to stack up regular season wins, but finding success in the playoffs is the new goal. A 34-17 regular season record — Kevin O’Connell’s since taking the top job — is impressive, but being 0-2 in the playoffs leaves a lot to be desired.
The next major event for Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings is the 2025 NFL Draft. The draft takes place from April 24th to 26th and will be held in Green Bay.
Minnesota currently has four selections.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.