Kevin O'Connell give hilarious anecdote surrounding the Vikings and explains why they have a fantastic culture

Throughout the entirety of the NFL owners meetings, the Minnesota Vikings have talked extensively about how the NFLPA survey has impacted the franchise. Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf expanded on that when he spoke to the media on Monday. "A lot of pride. I think, as an ownership, and I know our fans, hopefully, can appreciate […]

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Dec 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell greets his players before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Throughout the entirety of the NFL owners meetings, the Minnesota Vikings have talked extensively about how the NFLPA survey has impacted the franchise. Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf expanded on that when he spoke to the media on Monday.

"A lot of pride. I think, as an ownership, and I know our fans, hopefully, can appreciate this. We have the best stadium, the best facilities at training camp for our players, for our fans to enjoy the game, and that's very important. But it's not just the buildings. We have amazing people: Coach O'Connell, Kwesi (Adofo-Mensah), Rob Brzezinski, all the guys that kind of run the football operation, and Andrew Miller running our business side. I think we want to make sure our players know that they can come to a place where the buildings and facilities are A-1, that their families can be taken care of, and that they can hone their craft and maximize their potential. And so we have all those things, and we hope to continue to compete on that level."

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Kevin O'Connell has hilarious anecdote that shows pride in culture

The culture head coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have built is an excellent one. It's become a real destination for free agents to want to come here.

When asked about it at the NFL owners meetings breakfast, O'Connell had a great anecdote about how they view the survey.

"And it's kind of become a little bit of like something that I know everybody looks forward to. I've joked with a couple of the coaches here. Remember, we operated the way we do before we knew there was a report card. I remember when Jeff and John and Sam told me, 'Hey, there's going to be an NFLPA report card.' And it was after our first year, second year, whatever it was. Luckily, you guys have heard me say this before. We've got nothing to hide. We actually are pretty proud of the way we operate, and it's really cool now to have sustained long enough that people are talking about it. And by people, I mean players.

"I can't tell you how many of the players were like we've heard from players, and it's great that agents and you know the NFLPA report card, that is a player based report. Ryan Kelly is heavily involved in the NFLPA. He said, 'I can't tell you how many times your players have been the people we're asking how you guys do things, how you guys handle things, and you guys are still winning.' So, that's the most important part: winning. But we have a lot of pride in doing things our way, and our players have kind of taken ownership of that. Now it's the hard part is, can you sustain it? Can you sustain it, and can you continue to push to a world championship level while maintaining the way we feel very strongly about doing things, laying the foundation to have success for you in this season?"

It's always a good sign when you have inside jokes about the survey. Pair that with the excitement they have with their good grades on the report card and it exemplifies the great culture they have.

This is a great sign for now and moving forward with the Vikings, but as O'Connell said, they have to sustain it while pushing for a Super Bowl title. 

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