On Monday, Kevin O’Connell was mum on Daniel Jones when a reporter asked about rumors linking Jones to the Minnesota Vikings.
“I’m not going to really get into that today,” O’Connell said, “but I will say [I have] tons of respect for Daniel Jones as a player and a person.”
Still, the look in his eye said everything. Jones is O’Connell’s kinda guy. Jones cashed in on eliminating the Vikings two years ago, signing a four-year, $160 million extension after he beat Ed Donatell’s defense in the first round. However, the Giants released Jones on November 22 after he went two for eight with a 46.3 QBR.
“The player development side and the quarterback development side…is a huge passion of mine,” O’Connell said after they signed Jones on Wednesday. “I just love getting opportunities to work with guys, no matter what point in their quarterback journey they’re at.”
A former New York quarterback people consider a bust? Fourteen years after the New York Jets cut O’Connell, he’s turned former Jets bust Sam Darnold into a viable starting quarterback.
“Sam Darnold has had a fantastic year,” said O’Connell. “He has been everything that I had personally hoped [for] and then some when we brought him in here back in the spring.”
Spotrac projects Darnold to parlay his success this season with a four-year, $130 million contract. After seeing what O’Connell did with Darnold, Daniels’ pupils must have morphed into dollar signs. He chose the Vikings over the Baltimore Ravens, one of the better-coached and organizationally sound teams in the NFL.
“I’m excited any time any players that have a choice choose to pick to come to Minnesota. It validates a lot of the things that I think our players have built,” said O’Connell. “It hopefully validates that players that come into this building know they’re gonna get the same version of me every single day. They know that I’m gonna tremendously love and care about them and try to help them be the best version of themselves that they can be.
“I know I say that a lot, but I genuinely truly believe it and try to live every moment that I’m blessed to have in this building doing that.”
O’Connell said he individually spoke to Darnold and Minnesota’s three other quarterbacks – Nick Mullens, Brett Rypien, and J.J. McCarthy – after the Vikings signed Jones. He reiterated that he’s confident in them and enjoys coaching them.
“The conversation is different for Sam than it may be for Nick, Brett, and J.J.,” said O’Connell. “So I spent time with all those guys.”
The Vikings signed Jones to the practice squad, and he must learn the offense. Still, he may have a future role in Minnesota, while every quarterback except McCarthy may be playing somewhere else next season.
“There’s short-term and long-term conversations that are going on at every position on our roster,” O’Connell said in response to a question about Jones’ long-term future in Minnesota.
Jones’ extension exposed New York’s poor decision-making, likely leading to owner John Mara relieving general manager Joe Schoen of his duties at the end of the year. The Giants didn’t extend Jones after he produced a 12-25 record and a 55.7 QBR in his first three seasons. Therefore, they extended him for four years after the playoff win when they could have ridden out his fifth-year option.
In the offseason, Schoen didn’t extend Saquon Barkley, one of Mara’s favorite players. “You’re paying the guy $40 million,” Schoen said on Hard Knocks. “It’s not to hand the ball off to a $12 million back.”
Barkley signed a three-year, $36 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and has a career-high 1,392 yards through 11 games.
The Giants wouldn’t have been paying Jones $40 million if he hadn’t beaten the Vikings in the playoffs two years ago. He may have landed somewhere else with a better organizational foundation and thrived. Instead, he may take to O’Connell’s coaching and become a viable bridge quarterback who allows Minnesota to continue handling McCarthy with clean hands after Darnold signs elsewhere.
Perhaps O’Connell is thinking two steps ahead with a quarterback who beat his 13-win team in the playoffs two years ago. Maybe he just likes Jones and wants to help him turn his career around. Either way, O’Connell has established himself as the quarterback fixer, and that’s why he’s got that gleam in his eye.
