Kevin O’Connell, Sam Darnold earn Sporting News awards | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

Vikings' Kevin O’Connell, Sam Darnold earn Sporting News awards

Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and quarterback Sam Darnold earned awards from The Sporting News on Thursday after the team made the playoffs for the second time in three years.

O’Connell was named the Coach of the Year, while Darnold was named the Comeback Player of the Year. O’Connell earned the award on votes from his head coaching peers, while Darnold’s was voted on by hundreds of NFL players.

O’Connell’s historic run

Why it matters: In three seasons at Minnesota, O’Connell has a 34-19 record and led the Vikings to the playoffs two out of three seasons. He’s still looking for his first postseason win, but he’s the fastest coach in franchise history to at least 30 wins. He’s also the first coach in Vikings’ history to get multiple 13-win seasons in his first three years as head coach.

The NFL Honors event is next Thursday, and we’ll find out then if O’Connell gets the Coach of the Year Award. His competition is Dan Campbell, Dan Quinn and Andy Reid.

Darnold’s bounce-back season

By the numbers: Sam Darnold might have saved his NFL career in one season with Vikings. The former No. 3 overall pick in 2018 signed a one-year deal for $10 million to spend the 2024 season in Minnesota. He promptly threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, and made his first career trip to the playoffs.

We’ll find out next week if Darnold gets another award at the NFL Honors. We also wait to see if Darnold will be wearing Vikings' purple for the 2025 season.

What’s next

What we know: The Vikings and O’Connell reached an agreement on a multi-year extension to stay in Minnesota.

What we don’t know: If and when the Vikings will give general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah an extension. The two sides are reportedly in negotiations.

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