Kevin O’Connell is going with his gut.
While the Vikings coach stated Tuesday that Kyler Murray has shown glimpses of what the offense could become under his guidance, reports suggest neither he nor J.J. McCarthy was knock-your-socks-off good through the early stages of training camp.
Heck, maybe even McCarthy was a touch better.
Yet O’Connell didn’t allow marginal differences collected from a small sample size to alter his overarching plan. He said he had long tabbed Tuesday as his deadline for deciding who would be Minnesota’s starting quarterback moving forward.
Was that too soon to determine the winner of a competition? Of course. But this wasn’t really competition.
And that’s OK.
Murray was the choice of O’Connell and Co. the second he signed with Minnesota in March. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here.
McCarthy is entering only his third year of professional football, so it was prudent to give the young signal caller another offseason to grow and develop and then put any potential leap in ability and understanding on display in the first week-plus of training camp.
That didn’t happen. So the calculus didn’t change. O’Connell’s answer was the same now as it assuredly was five months ago – Murray gives the Vikings their best chance.
To win, yes. But also to play the aerially threatening offense O’Connell fantasizes in his head and charts out on paper.
When the coach’s vision becomes reality, it’s beautiful – as demonstrated in 2022 and 2024. When it doesn’t, well, you watched last season … and probably wish you hadn’t. McCarthy was under center for 10 of those games, many of which were eyesores in which the most positive net result was a punt.
You’ll have to excuse O’Connell for not wanting to relive that nightmare. Yes, McCarthy is only 23 years old. He’s only played 10 games in the pros. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that, eventually, he develops into an adequate starting NFL quarterback.
He has time.
O’Connell does not. This is the coach’s fifth season in Minnesota. There still are no playoff wins on his ledger. Last season was a failure. The team fired its general manager in January. If this fall doesn’t go well, O’Connell could very well suffer a similar fate.
The players, fan base and organization at large need a reminder of how his offense can hum when properly executed. This singular decision could determine the trajectory of O’Connell’s career.
He clearly feels there’s a better chance of Murray – who’s been a Pro Bowler and highly rated quarterback when healthy – getting it to that point in 2026 than McCarthy. It would be irresponsible for the head coach and playcaller to not fully back his own choice. You can’t fake belief.
It was time for O’Connell to rip off the band-aid and state his true intentions. Murray can now get the full attention of the coaching staff, the full allotment of first-team reps and the full command of the offense. He’ll be given every opportunity to prove he’s the man to elevate the unit back to its peak form.
“It’s about Kyler really assuming the role,” O’Connell said Tuesday. “So, now that as we go through the process of schematically, fundamentals, how we’re building what we’re asking of him, having the dialogue with him of how we best do things that he’s comfortable with. Are there some things he likes that he needs to get more comfortable with? We can now curtail it.”
Was this the right choice? Who’s to say. The next time Minnesota handles a quarterback conundrum correctly will be the first in awhile.
But at least O’Connell attacked this one with conviction. So, whatever happens, he can either succeed or fail doing it his way – with his clear-cut quarterback of choice under center.