The Minnesota Vikings wanted something different from Mike Zimmer when they made a coaching change.
Zimmer was a successful coach, leading the Vikings to a pair of division titles and their lone playoff win since 2009. He built one of the league’s top defenses and belongs in the conversation with Bud Grant and Dennis Green as the greatest coaches in franchise history.
But toward the end of his tenure, one fatal flaw was exposed: He wasn’t loyal enough to the people he counted on.
That led the Vikings to hire Kevin O’Connell, who has become the anti-Zimmer in many ways. O’Connell’s bedside manner during press conferences and his player-friendly approach have allowed him to squeeze the final drops of success that Zimmer couldn’t out of a similar roster. That attitude helped the Vikings rebound from a 1-4 start this season, but it could also be a detriment to the ultimate goal of winning a championship.
The latest example came in Sunday afternoon’s victory against the Las Vegas Raiders. After suffering two consecutive losses to the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears, O’Connell went into the bye week considering a change at quarterback.
Josh Dobbs had the inside track for the job after starting the last four games, but there were signs it wasn’t working out. After leading the Vikings to wins over the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, Dobbs had turned the ball over six times in the two losses before the bye, opening his job to competition.
According to FOX’s Kevin Kugler, O’Connell spent the entire bye watching Dobbs’s snaps with the Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals earlier in the season. While O’Connell wanted to give Dobbs a full week of coaching to implement his system, his comments to Kugler also hinted there was an emotional element to his decision.
I think a big part of this is that Josh Dobbs has been a guy that right about this time in his whole football journey, that is when people give up on Josh Dobbs. I wasn’t ready to do that yet. … I don’t know if it’s the quarterback background in me. I don’t know if it’s just my positive feelings towards the player and person because of what he did to basically save our season. I didn’t think it was fair, although it might have seemed easy to do like everyone has always done to this poor guy, but I wanted to give him an opportunity after the bye with full-on coaching and more immersion in the system to be able to be as successful as possible.
Compare Dobbs and O’Connell’s playing careers, and it’s easy to see where O’Connell would be reluctant to make a change.
O’Connell was the New England Patriots’ third-round pick in 2008, but he only appeared in two games during his NFL career. His physical ability was enough to stick on an NFL roster, and his intelligence was apparent enough to land him a coaching job eventually, yet he couldn’t put everything together.
That’s kind of where Dobbs is. Dobbs is a real-life rocket scientist with the acumen to process three offenses in four months. He also has the athletic ability to provide a dual-threat aspect to the Vikings’ offense. But like O’Connell, he just couldn’t put it all together, leading to a high turnover rate and issues with ball placement.
That came back to bite the Vikings on Sunday. Dobbs’ high throw in the second quarter left Justin Jefferson vulnerable to a big hit from old friend Marcus Epps. The ensuing chest injury knocked Jefferson out of the game and left O’Connell trying to make adjustments throughout the rest of the afternoon.
Dobbs struggled not only to connect with his receivers but also to avoid putting them in harm’s way. Alexander Mattison left the game after making a catch on another errant throw by Dobbs. But it took until the fourth quarter, when Dobbs had completed 10 of 23 passes for 63 yards, for O’Connell to put Mullens under center.
Had this been a game against a functional offense, it could have been a crucial loss as the Vikings try to hang on for a Wild Card spot. But because it was rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell, Minnesota put together the most thrilling 3-0 victory you’ve ever seen.
You may think I’m overreacting. A win is a win. But while the Vikings aren’t likely to hoist the Lombardi Trophy this season, O’Connell’s loyalty could become a problem again this offseason.
Kirk Cousins is a pending free agent, and there will likely be a bidding war for his services even as he returns from a torn Achilles. The Vikings are looking to extend Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw and potentially re-sign Danielle Hunter next offseason. Therefore, there may not be room to give Cousins the ironclad, fully guaranteed contract the Vikings have been willing to shell out since 2018. But Joe Buck’s comments during the Vikings’ Week 12 loss to the Bears signal that O’Connell could be ready to go the extra mile to make that happen.
“He tore his Achilles in Green Bay [and] he showed up either the next day or the day after that at a club function on Halloween, and then he was serving meals on Thanksgiving,” Buck said on ESPN’s broadcast. “He’s a special guy, and he’s somebody that O’Connell is desperate to bring back.”
Although his comments weren’t directly tied to O’Connell, it’s an issue the Vikings have had since the ownership change in 2005. Loyalty has been prevalent throughout the past two decades, whether it be holding on to Rick Spielman, extending players such as Cousins, Kyle Rudolph, and Anthony Barr, or prolonging the Zimmer era one year too long.
The same reason people vilified Zimmer at the end of his tenure was the same reason they were successful: He provided the checks and balances to the rest of the organization’s undying loyalty. Zimmer had favorites like Barr and Teddy Bridgewater but wasn’t afraid to hurt feelings.
- Zimmer disagreed with Norv Turner’s offense, so he sought out opinions to better understand it before Turner abruptly quit in October 2016.
- When Case Keenum saved the Vikings’ season in 2017, Zimmer remained noncommittal even as he led them to the NFC Championship game.
- When Stefon Diggs complained about his role in the offense, Zimmer forged ahead and eventually traded him to the Buffalo Bills.
- Then there was every offensive coordinator, from Kevin Stefanski to Klint Kubiak, who endured Zimmer’s wrath over every decision he disagreed with.
Some of Zimmer’s reactions were detrimental to the team. But others kept it in line, allowing the Vikings to achieve more than they otherwise should have.
Looking at the current structure, it’s fair to wonder where the checks and balances are. O’Connell has shown some cracks in recent weeks, and the Wilf family will continually approve as long as the Vikings remain “super competitive.” If anything, the final check could come from general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who has been reluctant to give the contracts Spielman used to. He also got rid of former franchise cornerstones such as Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook, and Eric Kendricks last winter.
Some of those decisions could come back to bite the Vikings. But they’re also made in the best interest of winning a championship instead of just going 9-8. O’Connell may have made the right decision to stick with Dobbs. Still, the reasoning on Sunday didn’t seem to match the goal.
The Vikings can’t allow to get their feelings involved if they want to win a championship, which is why Sunday’s game was a concerning moment in O’Connell’s coaching career.
