Imagine if someone told you in 2010 that the quarterback you saw the New York Jets unceremoniously cut during the infamous Antonio Cromartie Hard Knocks season would go 34-17 in his first three seasons as the Minnesota Vikings head coach.
It wouldn’t be the first time a mediocre player became a great coach. Still, Kevin O’Connell did so with Kirk Cousins under center his first year. A year ago, he had a rotating cast that included Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall, and Joshua Dobbs. Sam Darnold was supposed to be a bridge last year but won 14 games as the starter after J.J. McCarthy got hurt in camp.
O’Connell maximized Cousins, a .500 quarterback before Minnesota signed him. He turned Dobbs into the Passtronaut and made Darnold look like a franchise QB.
Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks, and O’Connell didn’t give into his Aaron Rodgers temptation, so it looks like the McCarthy era will start next year. McCarthy will be O’Connell’s third franchise quarterback in four years. However, McCarthy says the Vikings haven’t told him he’ll be the starter, and they haven’t signed a quarterback to bridge him.
Still, whether the Vikings sign Carson Wentz, Joe Flacco, or someone else, it feels like that quarterback will thrive. O’Connell shook a few extra wins out of Cousins and made Darnold look like a franchise quarterback. Shouldn’t he be able to revive Wentz or provide Flacco with a fountain of youth?
Who Minnesota chooses to bridge McCarthy with isn’t the chief concern. It’s whether McCarthy can become a franchise quarterback himself. Much of O’Connell’s future depends on it. He may have worked his magic with Cousins and Darnold. Still, we’ve seen the outer limits of his work. Dobbs was a sensation until he threw the hospital ball in Vegas. Hall and Mullens will play elsewhere next season.
There’s a reason people in the Vikings facility call him the “quarterback killer.” There are certain guys he can’t turn into a starter.
O’Connell returned to the Jets in 2011 and spent 2012 with the San Diego Chargers before retiring. He was a private quarterbacks instructor before the Cleveland Browns hired him as a quarterbacks coach in 2015. O’Connell matriculated through the coaching ranks as a quarterbacks coach until taking over as Washington’s offensive coordinator in 2019.
The Vikings hired him and worked within Sean McVay’s system with the Los Angeles Rams. Therefore, O’Connell’s success with quarterbacks solely isn’t the result of play design or situation. The Washington Commanders were one of the worst-run franchises under Dan Snyder, and he didn’t call plays in L.A. However, controlling play design and play-calling has undoubtedly helped his quarterback development in Minnesota.
Part of O’Connell’s success is technique. He had Josh McCown work with his army of quarterbacks on footwork throughout the year and offered personalized instruction. He often told the notoriously conservative Cousins to stick with his first read, usually a long-developing route. O’Connell has also adjusted his scheme to fit his quarterbacks. Darnold lost track of the linebackers while throwing intermediary routes, so O’Connell had Darnold throw deep or check down.
As head coach, O’Connell can better create a winning environment for his quarterback. The Vikings want to handle McCarthy with clean hands. They don’t want to rush him into action, especially after he missed last season with a meniscus tear. However, when he’s ready, he’ll have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison out wide, Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason in the backfield, and T.J. Hockenson as an outlet. Minnesota also bolstered the trenches around McCarthy in free agency and reinforced Brian Flores’ defense to take pressure off him to score.
O’Connell probably could have made a living as a quarterbacks coach in another life. If he ever tired of coaching or wanted more flexibility, he could be a quarterback whisperer for hire. He’d travel to Jacksonville to figure out how to get the most out of Trevor Lawrence or head to Indianapolis to rewire Anthony Richardson.
Instead, he’ll wait to see if they pan out, and pick them up and cleanse them in Minnesota if he gets the opportunity. It’s a failsafe if McCarthy gets hurt or doesn’t live up to expectations. O’Connell’s quarterback club doesn’t guarantee the Vikings will find the signal-caller they’ve been searching for since Fran Tarkenton retired in 1978. However, it gives them their best chance yet.