O’Connell Ready To Join Minnesota Vikings After Rams’ Super Bowl Win

The long wait for the Minnesota Vikings is finally over as they will soon have their new head coach focusing on the job of turning the team into an NFL contender.

Kevin O’Connell’s responsibilities with the Los Angeles Rams concluded Sunday night with his team’s 23-20 victory in Super Bowl LVI. O’Connell was the Rams offensive coordinator under head coach Sean McVay and he convinced the Minnesota ownership group and new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah that he has learned enough to become the team’s steward.

The Rams offensive performance in the Super Bowl may not have seemed overly impressive – other than the fact that they won the game. The running game all but disappeared against the Cincinnati Bengals, and when the Rams tried to get fancy in the first half by running a “Philly Special” with Cooper Kupp passing to quarterback Matthew Stafford, the play resulted in a poorly thrown incomplete pass.

Early on, the Rams had success with Stafford passing to Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr., but the offensive thrust disappeared after OBJ suffered an apparent knee injury in the second quarter and didn’t return until the game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter.

But a closer look at that late 15-play, 79-yard drive should give Vikings fans a bit more confidence than they may have had before the Rams emerged with the victory.

Here’s why: The Bengals completely shut down the Los Angeles ground game. The Rams tried to run the ball 23 times and came up with a paltry 43 yards. So, as the final drive got underway, it was clear that the Rams were not going to get in a position to score the go-ahead touchdown by running the ball. The other given was that Stafford was going to have to keep pumping the ball to Kupp because of the OBJ injury and the lack of dependability among the other Los Angeles receivers.

There was no element of surprise when it came to the Rams gameplan on the most important drive of the year. It was all about execution and the overall toughness of the performers when the pressure was at its highest level.

The Rams clearly came through, and the winning points came on Stafford’s one-yard TD pass to Kupp. Nothing fancy, just perfect execution when the Rams needed it most.

That’s what all football teams need – the ability to come out with their best and most significant plays when the pressure is the highest. The Rams came through at the end in the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers and in the Super Bowl against the Bengals.

O’Connell at least played a supporting role in the performance of the offense, and now he comes to the Vikings. Minnesota was unable to come through in the clutch throughout the majority of the season. The Vikings suffered eight of their nine losses in one-score games this season, and that included defeats at the hands of both the Bengals and the Rams.

When it comes to overall talent at the skill positions, the Vikings seem to have at least as much as the Rams. While Cooper Kupp had a brilliant year in leading the league in receptions, receiving yardage and receiving touchdowns, the Vikings have the outstanding duo of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. The combination of Jefferson and Thielen is very close to Kupp and a healthy OBJ.

The Vikings are far superior at the running back slot where Dalvin Cook is one of the dominant players at his position in the NFL and backup Alexander Mattison is extremely competent. The Rams went with Cam Akers and Sony Michel, and they were quite ordinary throughout the season and not even close to that level at the Super Bowl.

That brings us to the quarterback position, where Kirk Cousins has been able to produce solid passing statistics and is largely considered to have a similar talent level as Stafford.

However, the two are not equals when it comes to toughness. Stafford knew he would take a pounding year after year with the Lions, but his competitive fire remained intact. The Rams saw this, brought him in during the offseason, and he rewarded them by leading a Super Bowl-winning drive.

O’Connell will have to ask himself if he believes Cousins can do the same thing for the Vikings. His public answer will almost certainly support Cousins, but it seems unlikely that the new coach will ever come to the conclusion that the Vikings quarterback is capable of bringing his team to the top.

Tough decisions will have to be made if the Vikings are ever going to make a run at postseason success.