Vikings choose their head coach of the future: Kevin O’Connell staying put in Minnesota

The Minnesota Vikings were one of the top teams in the NFC, and after an early exit in the playoffs they decided to give Kevin O’Connell a multi-year deal.

After a season in which the Minnesota Vikings returned to the elite conversation they have decided to keep their head coach on for the long term. Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings reached a multi-year extension on Tuesday afternoon.

Vikings entrust O’Donnell

Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissaro reported that the two parties had reached an agreement just over a week after their first round exit from the playoffs. The amount was not stated in the report, nor the duration, but coach O’Connell, who was on the verge of his final year in Minnesota will be sticking around for the years to come.

“Kevin is exactly who we believed him to be when we named him as our head coach — an innovative play-caller, an excellent communicator and a strong leader who motivates and connects with his players,” said Vikings president Mark Wilf after the deal was reached. “He has helped establish a culture that positions us for sustained success, and he will continue to set the standard we need as we pursue a championship for Vikings fans.”

Minnesota is coming off of a 14 win season in which they were battling for the one seed in the NFC until the last week of the season. They came up short against the Detroit Lions in a battle for the top seed, and lost home field advantage in the final four quarters of the regular season. That set up a match up with the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the playoffs. They lost that game from a neutral site in Arizona and the Vikings dream season came to and abrupt end.

Career path

O’Connell has been with the Vikings since 2022 when he was named head coach after serving as offensive coordinator with the LA Rams and the Washington Redskins. He led the Vikes to the playoffs in his first year at US Bank Stadium, but last year Minnesota crashed out of the playoff picture after Kirk Cousins tore his achilles midway through the season. This season they not only returned to the playoffs, they were considered among the top teams in the league the entire season, but had a brief playoff run that was ended in the Wild Card division. Despite the early exit, O’Connell expressed his content with his situation and his bosses in Minnesota.

“What I would say is I love being the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings,” O’Connell said on Jan. 16. “I love our ownership, I have a great relationship with our ownership. Feel so fortunate, like I said, not only the way they support us and believe in us, but also the impact they have on our players, our locker room and ultimately where we all want to go together. Feel very, very great about that.”