Jared Allen got good at Yahtzee when he was with the Minnesota Vikings.
“Yeah, I dominate,” he proudly exclaimed. “I’m not a gambler, but I Yahtzee. We get after it.”
Allen said he needed something to pass the time during training camp. He tried to spice things up one year by bringing a recreational vehicle, but Brad Childress disapproved. So, he turned to Yahtzee in the Mankato State dorms to satiate his competitive drive.
“Yahtzee got intense,” he said with a laugh. “That was a great way to kill the time. You know, especially when Brad, he wouldn’t let us – we all had to stay in the dorm. I tried to pitch for RVs at training camp. I brought it one year. The coaches took over my RV. That sucked.”
The Wilfs bought the Vikings in 2005. Later that year, Minnesota had the “Love Boat scandal.” Read into the lurid details on your own time. It’s enough to make Vikings fans blanche, and they don’t need to google “Whizzinator” to know it’s not something you can’t bring through TSA.
In response, the Wilfs hired Childress to restore order at Winter Park. Minnesota’s mustachioed Mussolini ensured his team adhered to the No Fun League’s strictures. He micromanaged to the extent it created the infamous 12-men in the huddle moment in the 2010 NFC Championship.
Still, Chilly Willy may have been the right man for that moment. The Vikings have eschewed Love Boat-scale scandals under the Wilfs, who’ve improved the culture in Minnesota. After things got tense under Mike Zimmer, they replaced the hard-nosed defensive coach with the sunny Kevin O’Connell.
O’Connell is California cool. He collaborates with his players and preaches situational mastery. His play designs look like something Will Hunting would scratch out on a chalkboard. He’s a modern coach for the modern game.
Aside from his quarterback whispering, O’Connell’s greatest attribute may be his willingness to delegate. After Ed Donatell’s defense fell apart in O’Connell’s first season as head coach, he hired Brian Flores. It was a risky move. Flores is a former head coach who is suing the league. He had a churlish reputation; Tua Tagovailoa called him a “terrible person” last year.
Still, O’Connell knew Flores from their time together in New England, and his sterling resumé didn’t threaten him. Instead, O’Connell empowered Flores to build his unique defense. They bounce ideas off each other, knowing that seeing offense through the defensive perspective is vital and vice versa.
“The coaching staff here doesn’t have an ego,” Allen said.
“You have your system, which is great. But anytime you see guys that can come in from other systems and free agency and immediately thrive, it’s because it’s an environment built for success. It’s a coaching staff that understands we need to put them in a position to have success so we can have success and not the other way around.”
Flores may build his defense around his players, creating bespoke roles for Josh Metellus, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Harrison Smith. Still, he prefers athletic, versatile players who can blitz, defend the run, and lock down pass-catchers in coverage.
“Coach Flores is crushing it. I’m not gonna lie,” Allen said, searching for Flores in the back of the room. “I wish I was more athletic, Coach. I know he’s in the back there. Playing in his defense would be fun. [But] Pat [Williams] and I don’t fit in that defense whatsoever.
“Everybody’s like, ‘You can do [Andrew Van] Ginkel‘s job.’ I’m like, ‘Nope.’ I would blow a hamstring out. I would trip on myself. I would fall over trying to stand up. That doesn’t work for me. Can’t backdoor in this defense, Coach. And that’s all Pat was good at. Pat’s a backdooring son of a gun. Get down the line with the best of them.”
While Allen doesn’t think he could play in Flores’ defense, he fell in love with the team this year. He attended three games, including jetting to London to see the Vikings beat the New York Jets and catching their win over the Tennesee Titans in Nashville.
“I flew to London. I was fangirling Kevin in Nashville,” said Allen excitedly, who introduced his girls to O’Connell. “I was like, ‘That’s Coach O’Connell. Girls, that’s Coach! Can I touch your blazer, Coach?’”
Allen went from a skeptic to a believer last season.
“I’m excited where we’re going. We’re close, you know?” Allen said. “I’ll state the obvious: We’ve been close for a long time, right? The next hurdle in the Vikings organization is, how do we get there?”
Allen may not believe he would fit in Flores’ defense, but you’d think Flores would find a way. Flores and O’Connell can get the most out of talented players. O’Connell would probably even allow Allen to bring his RV to camp. He might even try to beat him at Yahtzee.
