Kevin O'Connell isn't even in the Coach of the Year discussion
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell has his team at a rather improbable 7-6 after a dreary win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 14. O'Connell and co. are currently sixth in the playoff race and have a 62% chance to make the playoffs, per the New York Times' playoff machine.The second-year coach has been […]
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell has his team at a rather improbable 7-6 after a dreary win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 14. O'Connell and co. are currently sixth in the playoff race and have a 62% chance to make the playoffs, per the New York Times' playoff machine.
The second-year coach has been able to duct tape the offense and attach it to what is a playoff-caliber defense under defensive coordinator Brian Flores. The Vikings' most recent batch of injuries aren't going to help him, but O'Connell has shown he can do just enough to help his guys push into the postseason.
That's why Betonline.ag's most recent round of Coach of the Year odds are pretty ridiculous. O'Connell was taken off the table, despite another win and a 7-6 record. He was at 33/1 odds heading into last week.
O'Connell is currently outpaced by rival coach Matt LaFleur
LaFleur is currently sixth out of 11th with 9/1 odds. Yes, the Green Bay Packers head coach has done a good job this year and his team currently hold the NFC's seventh seed in the playoff race. But, they're 6-7 and one of those losses was to the Vikings back in Week 8, when Kirk Cousins tore his ACL. That game was one of the Packers' worst losses of the year and there's certainly a case to make that it was their worst of all seven. The Packers currently have a 50% chance of making the postseason, per the playoff machine, which is way down from the 72% chance they had going into their loss on Monday Night Football.
So, O'Connell has his team in better playoff position, has a better record, and has the head-to-head win over his division rival. He's accomplished of all the above, while dealing with bad injuries to the best players on his team, and for one last point, has done it playing a tougher schedule.
And yet he's not even in the discussion, right now?
That's simply ludicrous. No one is saying O'Connell needs to be the favorite, but his name needs to be in the hat, at least. LaFleur has done a very good job after a very bad start, much like O'Connell.
The rest of the odds are below:
The last four weeks play a big role in the result
Minnesota's remaining schedule plays a part, which is considered to be the sixth-hardest over these last four weeks. Two matchups against the Detroit Lions, what looks to be a resurgent Cincinnati Bengals squad and the aforementioned Packers are what make up the final month of the regular season. Since we are making direct comparisons with LaFleur – the Packers have the second-easiest schedule over the last four weeks.
It won't be an easy road, but it's still not a good enough reason to take O'Connell off the board. We'll see what happens if the Vikings go out and beat the Bengals this weekend, especially considering Zac Taylor's name is on the table.
