Vikings Don't Offer Harbaugh Job, Choose Other Candidate: Reports

MINNEAPOLIS — Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will not be the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. The team reportedly met with Harbaugh for nine hours on Wednesday but never made him an offer.

The team is expected to hire Kevin O’Connell, the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Due to NFL rules, the Vikings can't make the hiring official until after the Rams play in the Super Bowl, which is Feb. 13.

Multiple reports say that Harbaugh thought the job was his, while the Vikings had reservations that came out over the course of the interview.

"I don't gather that there's any bad blood from either side," ESPN's Courtney Cronin reports. "Just sounds like a difference in expectation from Harbaugh's perspective and from the Vikings'."

O’Connell is 36-years-old and has been the Rams' offensive coordinator for two years. Previously, O'Connell was a member of the San Francisco 49ers' coaching staff, and his time there overlapped in 2016 with new Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

O'Connell graduated from San Diego State in December 2007 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Here is O'Connell's background:

NFL Career

• 2008 New England Patriots QB
• 2009 Detroit Lions QB
• 2009-10 New York Jets QB
• 2011 Miami Dolphins QB
• 2011 New York Jets QB
• 2012 San Diego Chargers QB

NFL Coaching Career:

• 2015 Cleveland Browns Quarterbacks Coach
• 2016 San Francisco 49ers (Special Projects)
• 2017 Washington Football Team Quarterbacks Coach
• 2018 Washington Football Team Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Game Coordinator
• 2019 Washington Football Team Offensive Coordinator
• 2020-21 Los Angeles Rams Offensive Coordinator