PurplePTSD: 5 Reasons To Be Excited About Kevin O'Connell

Press release from the PurplePTSD:

Ali Siddiqui

2022-02-21

The Minnesota Vikings officially introduced Kevin O’Connell as their new head coach on Thursday.

Fans are excited about the new era. Will O’Connell be a good head coach, though? Only time will tell, but so far there is plenty to like about him.

Here are reasons to be excited about the new coach.

This league continues to be more and more about offense. O’Connell is not only a former offensive coordinator, he also a former quarterback. Sure, he was a career backup from 2008-2012 and only played in two games, but he still played in the league.

Regardless of how much longer Kirk Cousins may be the team’s starting quarterback, he will be 34-years-old next season, so he will not be around too much longer. Sooner or later they need to find a long-term quarterback. Maybe they draft one this year or next year. Maybe it could somehow be Kellen Mond. Regardless, it should help having a head coach that was a former quarterback.

The Los Angeles Rams just won the Super Bowl. Head coach Sean McVay called the plays, but O’Connell still was involved in the game planning.

Bringing a winning energy to a team is never a bad thing.

No, young coaches do not always make great coaches and older coaches do not always make bad coaches. Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, and Pete Carroll continue to do great work. One thing about younger coaches, though, is that they often can relate more to the players. They do not have an old school mentality and are often more willing to adapt to the current NFL. One of Mike Zimmer’s weaknesses was that he was not willing to adapt to the current league. He still had the 1990s mindset. You can even say 1980s. He wanted to run more than most head coaches did.

Given that O’Connell is only 36, he could be the Vikings coach for a very long time if he pans out. Zimmer was the coach for eight years, which is a long time in this business. Mike Tomlin (former Vikings defensive coordinator, by the way) will be entering year 16 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Could O’Connell be the Vikings coach for that long or at least close to that long?

That would certainly be great news for the organization. It would obviously mean he is doing a great job with perhaps a Super Bowl win or two.

Does all this mean he will turn out to be a good head coach? Absolutely not. He may very well be a disaster. He has never been a head coach, but so far there is a lot to like about him. In the end, changes were needed in the organization. Mike Zimmer did some good things, but it was time to move on.

Matt LaFleur, Brandon Staley, and Zac Taylor all came from McVay’s coaching staff in Los Angeles. Staley, in year one, went 9-8. LaFleur and Taylor have been very good so far. Taylor’s Cincinnati Bengals nearly beat the Rams.

Zimmer did some good things during his time in Minnesota, but with how things went the past two years it was time for a change. Maybe Raheem Morris or Jim Harbaugh would have been better hires, but maybe not. Kevin O’Connell could very well end up being very good for the Vikings.

It will be very interesting to see how he does as the head coach. Change can be a great thing at times and sometimes you have to take a chance and give someone an opportunity. Every head coach at one point has never held that title. Some became a disaster as head coaches, but some became great.

A new era of Vikings football is here.

This press release was produced by the PurplePTSD. The views expressed here are the author’s own.