A New Era: Minnesota Vikings introduce Kevin O'Connell as head coach

EAGAN, Minn. (FOX 9) - A new era for the Minnesota Vikings officially started Thursday with Kevin O’Connell being introduced as the team’s next head coach.

O’Connell, 36, becomes the 10th head coach in franchise history. He comes to Minnesota after spending the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the L.A. Rams, and winning the Super Bowl last Sunday in a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. 

The team officially announced O’Connell’s hiring Wednesday, as he celebrated that title with a parade in L.A. Thursday marked his first time at TCO Performance Center. O’Connell’s initial interview with the Vikings was virtual, and the team’s management group flew to L.A. to meet with him in-person before the Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game.

O’Connell will replace Mike Zimmer, who spent eight seasons with the Vikings and went 72-56-1, but made the NFC Playoffs just three times and won two playoff games. Zimmer and Rick Spielman were both fired on Jan. 10. A little less than three weeks later, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired to replace Spielman as the head of the front office.

Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell spoke with reporters together for the first time on Thursday at TCO Performance Center.

Adofo-Mensah said he realized O'Connell was probably the right fit for his vision with the Vikings about an hour into their in-person interview. They were talking football philosophies, and O'Connell's energy was infectious.

"It was just so natural, everybody else that was in the interview said it right after. The connection, the energy was incredible. In that moment, I probably knew myself," Adofo-Mensah said. "He’s committed to building a championship culture through positivity and purpose."

Vikings Owner and President Mark Wilf stressed leadership, communication and collaboration in hiring Adofo-Mensah. The same applies to O’Connell as the franchise goes in a new, innovative direction. The two overlapped in San Francisco in 2016. Adofo-Mensah was in football research and development with the 49ers, while O’Connell was in special projects.

"I felt connected from our very first Zoom call with the entire Wilf family, members of the front office, obviously Kwesi and our ability to connect from day one. The chance to partner with Kwesi was one of the huge draws to this job," O’Connell said.

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O’Connell is married with three kids, who were all at Thursday’s news conference along with his parents and his wife, Leah’s parents. The Vikings dignitaries that attended included Bud Grant, John Randle, Randall McDaniel and Scott Studwell. O’Connell joked he might have Randle lead defensive tackling drills, as he looks like he could still play.

Three big factors in O'Connell choosing Minnesota? A roster already stacked with talent. He referenced Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, Harrison Smith, Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks. He mentioned U.S. Bank Stadium, which he's been to twice as a visitor and had to deal with the noise of Vikings' fans. Finally, TCO Performance Center, where his vision is for players, coaches and the front office communicate and collaborate daily, creating an environment where everybody feels comfortable in every imaginable way. 

O’Connell vowed that he’ll coach under three core values: Consistency, having a relentless passion for teaching, leading and motivating and setting a tone where players want to be around the coaching staff, and in the building. That’s something that multiple current players said after this season was missing in the final days of Zimmer and Spielman.

"Consistency is everything that we do in this league. I think we’ll set a tone and create a culture here where players will want to be around us. They’ll want to be around their coaches, they’ll want to be in the building," O’Connell said.

He also made it very clear that there will be collaboration among the front office, coaching staff and players.

"That’s the No. 1 thing that we’ve talked about. We’ve known from Day one that we’re going to be able to collaborate, communicate with one another and build a culture here that the players will feel. They’ll feel a connectedness between the front office and coaching staff," O’Connell said. "It’s a culture built on players and coaches being connected. I want the players to know that I care about them."

O’Connell said Thursday he will call the offensive plays, which is something he didn’t do under Sean McVay with the Rams. So in addition to being a first-time head coach, he’s a first-time play-caller.

O’Connell was asked about Kirk Cousins, who he coached in Washington in 2017. Cousins has played four seasons with the Vikings, but has been to be playoffs with Minnesota just once despite putting up mostly gaudy numbers. He’s due to make $45 million in 2022.

Will he be O’Connell’s quarterback?

"I know he’s under contract and I’m excited to coach him. We’ve already started thinking about how we’re going to build those systems for him. It takes all 11 to move the football on offense, to run it, to throw it, to score points in the red zone. But I’m anticipating Kirk being a part of what we do," O’Connell said.

Most of all, O’Connell wants to be the Vikings’ coach that brings a Super Bowl to Minnesota. Zimmer got the Vikings to one NFC title game, but not closer. The Vikings have been to four Super Bowls, with no victories.

O’Connell comes to the Vikings four days removed from winning football’s biggest game.

"I know what it takes, I’ve seen it, I’ve experienced it and I know how hard it can be. But I know if you’ve got the right kind of people with you, we can accomplish a lot of really special things," O’Connell said.

Next up for O’Connell, Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings? The NFL Combine in about two weeks, free agency and the NFL Draft.