Vikings request to interview Rams OC Kevin O’Connell for head coaching job

As a part of their head coaching search, the Minnesota Vikings will be talking to another coach that’s considered one of the young, rising stars in the NFL on the offensive side of the ball.

The Vikings have requested to interview Kevin O’Connell for their head coaching vacancy. O’Connell currently serves as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, giving him one of the most important qualifications for any potential NFL head coach, that being, “Hey, he worked with Sean McVay.”

O’Connell was a third-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2008 NFL Draft out of San Diego State, but as a player wound up bouncing around to six different teams and only attempted six regular-season passes in his NFL career. After a couple of years away from the league, he joined the Cleveland Browns as their quarterbacks coach in 2015. He then spent 2016 with the San Francisco 49ers and then found his way to Washington.

While in Washington, he served as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for a couple of seasons before being elevated to the OC spot in 2019. During that time, he was Kirk Cousins’ QB coach for his final season in Washington before he signed with Minnesota. He was the OC with Washington for one year before joining McVay’s staff in Los Angeles prior to the 2020 season.

The Rams have been very good on offense during McVay’s time in Los Angeles, and some of that has likely rubbed off on O’Connell. He’s another young candidate at 36 years old, so if the Vikings are looking towards some sort of youth movement, he might be someone they’re considering pretty seriously.

What do you think of the idea of Kevin O’Connell potentially becoming the tenth head coach in the history of the Minnesota Vikings, ladies and gentlemen?