The Head Coach Of Minnesota Vikings Just Announced His Departure
INDIANAPOLIS: Kevin O’Connell has made no secret of his desire for Kirk Cousins to return. He said as much during the season as he did at the post-season news conference, on Tuesday at the NFL Combine podium, and on Wednesday in a sit-down interview with beat reporters. However, he also knows that cousins can end up landing somewhere else if he gets an offer he can’t turn down. In light of this, O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah are in Indianapolis meeting with quarterback prospects amid a draft class that some pundits anticipate will include as many as five first-round selections.
In what way does O’Connell handle his brief encounters with players? He clarified that he is searching for a few readily available items that are essential to a quarterback’s performance.
“As a starting point, we can respond to certain crucial queries in under fifteen minutes, like, do they adore football? Are they intelligent? stated O’Connell. “You can feel genuine authentic grit when you talk to someone, and sometimes when these men walk out, you get that sensation that it was real authentic.” The toughness should be evident on their tape.
Adofo-Mensah asserted that when it comes to quarterback play, movies can only offer so much information. Schemes and meetings fill in the blanks when it comes to their awareness of the prospect’s team; they can observe which passes were made or missed and make assumptions about certain things based on broad scheme knowledge, but oftentimes they are looking for a deeper grasp of what happened.
“How many guys did we feel filled in some of the holes for us, and that was so valuable? You don’t know the ‘why’ behind it.” Said Adofo-Mensah.
“And they don’t always act in that manner,” O’Connell said. “That isn’t how things always happen.”
It was difficult in the second half of the season to set up the offense for Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall since the Vikings were forced to play without Cousins for the first time in the KAM-KOC era last year. When asked if, in the event that Cousins leaves, he would need a specific kind of quarterback in the draft or if he could adjust the scheme to suit the strengths of his young quarterback, O’Connell explained that, unlike the previous season, when it was hard to make too many adjustments for the ten other players on the field in the middle of the season, with a new quarterback, they would have the entire offseason to adjust to that player’s needs, strengths, and weaknesses.
“We’ll try to put together the best offense we can for our team when you start talking about some of the other traits that might make their job easier, like athleticism or arm strength, but I think the quarterback position is the most important one when it comes to the nuts and bolts of how it all comes together,” O’Connell remarked.
Though the qualities and experiences of the several quarterback prospects are diverse—from Drake Maye’s strong arm to JJ McCarthy’s upside to Bo Nix’s 61 college starts—O’Connell will not budge on a few points. These include Jayden Daniels’ prolific running and deep passing. On Wednesday, he outlined what he referred to as the “non-negotiables”:
“Accuracy is a must for any NFL quarterback hoping to play for a long time in this league,” O’Connell stated. “To play the position, players must be able to comprehend information and possess a certain amount of baseline toughness because they will be asked to perform cognitively and physically demanding tasks given what happens every Sunday.”
What percentage of the QBs in this draft may fit KOC’s requirements? Will that alter in Indianapolis by much? It’s difficult to say, but it seems like during their week at the Combine, Vikings brass has been interested in the upcoming class.
“We have been observing this class for a few years, and it was beneficial to see them in person and realize that a lot of what we observed [on film] was accurate, even though that isn’t always the case,” Adofo-Mensah added. “We believed they were extremely intelligent.”
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Josh McCown, a former NFL quarterback, was appointed quarterback coach by the Vikings. O’Connell was drawn to the former journeyman because of his background in a variety of quarterback room situations.
“He is incredibly knowledgeable about quarterback rooms, the relationships that exist there, the dynamics of various rooms, and real quarterback play. Having a foundation of knowing what our offensive goals are and being able to interpret them in whatever language that specific player requires, according to O’Connell, “The ability to recognize that there could be three or more men in the room working on various stages of the process. In this league, I think he has an incredibly bright future.
The Vikings excelled in the NFL Players Association’s annual players survey, coming in second only to the Miami Dolphins overall for the second straight year. Players gave Kevin O’Connell A+ grades, which is the highest grade any NFL coach has ever received.
“I believe it indicates that guys are reacting to my method, embracing their true personalities, and pushing them to reach their full potential,” O’Connell remarked. “You imagine what we have developed in terms of culture over the last two years as something that can be perpetuated within our locker room.”
The Vikings did well last year with the training staff, but that was the one area in the NFLPA poll where they did not obtain the highest marks. The club decided to part ways with trainer Uriah Myrie recently.
Regarding the action, O’Connell stated, “There were some things in the interaction that I had with our players on a regular basis that I believed went below the line of the standards that we attempt to set.”
The Browns and Vikings will practice together in Cleveland this season, according to Browns general manager Andrew Berry.
“Embrace that camp vibe and spend three or four days away as a team and group and make the most of it; the team we do it with is as important as anything, and Cleveland is that kind of team, and Kevin Stefanski’s leadership and the conversation about how we would put it together were really exciting,” O’Connell stated.
After turning the defense around in a season, defensive coordinator Brian Flores enjoyed head coaching hype, but teams with openings eventually passed on the former Dolphins head coach. O’Connell thought Flores would be more interested.
“I was taken aback since I am aware of the elite football coach he is, and there were a few days when I may have assumed such requests would be made, but they were never fulfilled,” O’Connell remarked. I’m sure he enjoys his time in Minnesota. Although he wasn’t actively pursuing it, I was holding out hope that we would be able to bring him in. A year later, I’m glad we did, as it allows us to spend the entire offseason with him, not just for the evaluation process but also for the draft, free agency, and our own roster, and he will continue to leave his mark on that defense.
