Kevin O’Connell is heading into 2026 with the kind of résumé that should keep him near the top of any NFC North coaching conversation. He’s already the only head coach in the division with a Coach of the Year award, and his Vikings have been a study in extremes under his watch: in even-numbered years, 2022 and 2024, Minnesota has gone a combined 27-7 and won 13 or more games both times. In odd-numbered years, the record has slipped to a combined 16-18.
That uneven track record is part of why Freddie Boston of Lombardi Ave slotted O’Connell fourth in a recent ranking of NFC North head coaches as the 2026 season approaches. Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur landed at No. 1, while O’Connell was the one left at the bottom of the list.
“Someone had to go in the No. 4 spot, which is unfair on Kevin O'Connell, who is a fantastic coach”, Boston wrote.
Boston’s case against O’Connell centers on the same thing that has followed Minnesota throughout his tenure: inconsistency. The Vikings have paired their big seasons with down years, and they still don’t have a playoff win under O’Connell.
“So, what's holding O'Connell back?”, Boston wrote.
“For starters, it's the inconsistency. In 2022 and 2024, the Vikings went a combined 27-7 and won two NFC North titles. But in 2023 and 2025 combined, they went 16-18 with no playoff appearances.”
LaFleur’s No. 1 ranking comes from the usual coaching currency: more regular-season wins and more division titles. But O’Connell’s supporters can point to the context around those totals.
LaFleur has had more time on the job than anyone else in the division, and he hasn’t had to oversee the kind of full rebuild Dan Campbell faced in Detroit or the reset Ben Johnson is walking into in Chicago. O’Connell has also dealt with quarterback injuries in the down years.
Campbell and Johnson have each won a playoff game more recently than LaFleur has, though Campbell’s came just barely in the 2023 postseason, with the Packers losing in the same round that year. O’Connell, like Campbell and Johnson, has won a division title more recently than LaFleur.
The pressure is real on O’Connell this season. He’ll need to get solid quarterback play from whoever starts for Minnesota, with non-J.J.
McCarthy as a first-year starter. The source material suggests history is on his side there.
And if the Vikings are going to quiet any talk about his job security after the season, a playoff win would go a long way.
For all the debate around the ranking, one thing is clear: O’Connell does not look like the fourth-best coach in the NFC North. If anything, the argument can be made that the coach sitting at No. 1 on this green-and-gold-tinged list belongs in that spot instead.
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Kevin O'Connell Just Kept The Vikings' QB Drama Alive
Kevin OConnell spent part of his appearance on The Dan Patrick Show doing what coaches often try to do in quarterback situations like this: keep the conversation open without tipping his hand. He framed the competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy as part of Minnesotas larger push to elevate the quarterback position, stressing that internal competition matters and that the club wants the process handled on a clear timeline before the regular season arrives.
Murray remains the name most observers point to as the frontrunner, but OConnell was careful not to lean into that publicly, leaving the door open for the battle to carry through training camp. The Vikings have no interest in letting the decision drift too deep into August, and with McCarthy trying to build on his first season as a starter, the next stretch should tell plenty about how firm the pecking order really is. [Read more 🡒]
This Vikings Rookie Class Could Force A Familiar Debate
The Vikings 2026 draft was shaped by a different hand than the one fans have grown used to, with Rob Brzezinski running the board as interim general manager after Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired in late January. Brzezinski leaned hard into defense, using four of the first five picks on that side of the ball and adding linemen Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange, safety Jakobe Thomas and fullback-tight end Max Bredeson to a roster that needed help in more than one place.
That approach has already created the kind of summer conversation Minnesota has been missing for a while: which rookies can actually force their way onto the field right away. Banks and Orange could be asked to help up front, Thomas has a path at safety with Harrison Smiths future still unsettled, and Bredeson may be pushed into a larger role by simple roster math. For a team that has not gotten enough consistent return from recent drafts, the possibility of multiple first-year contributors is exactly the sort of debate that can shape how this class is remembered. [Read more 🡒]