We all know how badly Jim Harbaugh wanted the Minnesota Vikings coaching job in 2022. Why wouldn’t he? With Justin Jefferson in place and a roster that was about to win 13 games, Minnesota seemed like a perfect landing spot for the former Michigan coach. Of course, the Vikings ultimately didn’t go with Harbaugh, and instead teamed up with Kevin O’Connell.
But if Harbaugh thought Minnesota was the perfect landing spot for him then, imagine what he thinks about that missed opportunity now. The Vikings’ offense was so dominant last year that Sam Darnold could step into the Gundam and pilot them to 14 wins. Now Minnesota is about to put Harbaugh’s Wolverine protégé, J.J. McCarthy, into that same mech.
Of course, Harbaugh might be the only person who’d have him trade places with KOC, the energetic, positive-vibes maestro. O’Connell is the architect of Minnesota’s explosive passing game, and a 34-17 record during a “competitive rebuild.” Now the “rebuild” part is over, and the Vikings are getting into the just-plain-competitive portion of his tenure.
But, in a weird twist of fate, the Vikings enter this phase of the franchise with a need for an offense that looks more like Harbaugh’s than O’Connell’s.
Harbaugh had a winning formula for McCarthy’s Wolverines in college: They’d lean on the run game first and foremost, only relying on McCarthy when absolutely necessary. Throughout his National Championship run, McCarthy attempted just 22.1 passes per game on average, which was by far the lowest of his peers in the 2024 draft class.
Among those first-rounders: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix, and Bo Nix, McCarthy’s 332 attempts were surpassed by all but Daniels… who had 327 in three fewer games than McCarthy. On average, these quarterbacks threw 31.7 passes per game during the 2023 season, making them a much larger part of their offense than McCarthy.
That can be read as a slight on McCarthy. Was Harbaugh trying to hide him? Having watched Harbaugh’s return to the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers last year, we can safely say, “No.”
Not unless he was trying to hide Justin Herbert for some weird reason. In Herbert’s first season under Harbaugh, the golden-armed former top pick only threw 29.6 times per game, the lowest rate of his career. That’s just how Harbaugh rolls, it appears. He gets as much value out of his running game as possible, with his quarterback being an ace up his sleeve when he needs it.
After the 2025 draft, it looks like the Vikings are preparing to run a Harbaugh-type offense. If signing Will Fries and Ryan Kelly, then trading for Jordan Mason didn’t tip Vikings fans off to this direction, drafting Donovan Jackson 24th overall this weekend gave it away.
“Now the run game’s cool again, right?” Kwesi Adofo-Mensah noted after the pick.
Is O’Connell prepared for that change, though? His calling card is his creative scheme designed to get his star receivers open downfield for big plays, and he leans as heavily on the passing game as any coach in the NFL. His Vikings threw on 62% of their plays during his first two seasons. Was that because KOC hated the run, or was it because of his personnel?
Once Minnesota got Aaron Jones, it became clear that there was a place in O’Connell’s heart for the running game. The Vikings only passed on 54.5% of their plays last year, but there would still be times when the coach was reluctant to ride his running game. Of course, the interior offensive line was a problem, as was having little trustworthy depth behind Jones.
There are no more excuses for abandoning the run game now. The Vikings rebuilt the offensive line to KOC’s exact specifications. Jones is back, and Mason makes for a high-end 1B running back. And the quarterback guru must ensure he insulates his rookie-ish signal-caller as he eases into the NFL.
There’s a balancing act, though. The Vikings chose KOC over Harbaugh because they wanted KOC, and not Harbaugh. O’Connell is absolutely going to have to adapt last year’s offense to suit a first-year starter over a veteran. Still, there will be — and should be — elements of KOC’s signature in there. As improved as the run game is, Minnesota will still have Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson catching passes. They even drafted the tall, speedy Tai Felton in the third round to add to the receiver stable.
Balancing out the offense to the exact right equilibrium might be a challenge, but it’s no doubt one O’Connell is excited to take on. He has his hand-picked quarterback ready to go, with all the toys he could ask for in the ground and aerial attack. Maybe it takes a bit to build McCarthy up to the gun-slinging show that Darnold put on last season, but getting to that point should be a blast.
