Multiple teams expected to inquire about key Minnesota Vikings figure will be wasting their time
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer came out with a bombshell report that teams have Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell on their list to become their next head coach and will inquire about possibly trading for him. "There are multiple teams that actually are considering trying to trade for Kevin O'Connell. And the reason why, next […]
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer came out with a bombshell report that teams have Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell on their list to become their next head coach and will inquire about possibly trading for him.
"There are multiple teams that actually are considering trying to trade for Kevin O'Connell. And the reason why, next year, the last year of his deal, had no contract talks yet at all. And look, if your team is out there saying, why not take a shot, see if we can do it? Maybe the Vikings don't let it happen. But also, Kevin O'Connell kind of has the cards. Hey, listen, I'm not going to resign there, so you might as well get something for me. I don't know, because obviously I don't think Kevin knows about this right now. But there are multiple teams who have them on that board to see. Let's at least try and see."
The Vikings won't trade Kevin O'Connell
Let's get this out of the way right now: the Vikings won't be trading O'Connell.
Glazer's comment on the element of the contract is correct. He hasn't signed an extension yet and is in the final year of his contract. That is worth monitoring as we go as far as when the extension happens, but it will.
The Wilf's are very intentional about how they conduct business. As The Star Tribune's Ben Goessling wrote, the Wilfs usually wait until the final year of their deals to negotiate an extension.
The team had given Mike Zimmer his first contract extension after two seasons as head coach in 2016, but the Vikings’ standard practice has been to wait until the final year of a coach’s or GM’s deal before finalizing extensions, as they did for Zimmer and Rick Spielman before giving the former coach and GM one-year extensions in 2019 and three-year extensions in 2020.
From a local perspective, O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah not having an extension in place isn't much of a surprise. Their 34-16 record will get them big extensions this offseason and co-owner Mark Wilf told Goessling that they look forward to having contract extensions with both this offseason
“We’re looking forward to a great future with these guys,” he said. “We look forward to having those conversations with each of them after the season. We have tremendous confidence, and we look forward to their continued leadership of the franchise.”
Do teams want O'Connell to be their head coach? Of course, they do! Who wouldn't want O'Connell's leadership, offensive acumen, and culture to be in their building? They should call the Vikings and see if they can trade for him.
Of course, the Vikings will laugh and hang up the phone, but it's good business to try. There isn't going to be a trade and he will be staying with the Vikings hopefully for a decade and beyond.
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