Vikings’ QB Whisperer Kevin O’Connell Faces Biggest Test With J.J. McCarthy

There is no resting on past accomplishments for Vikings fourth-year head coach Kevin O’Connell. While the first three years of his association with the organization have clearly been successful with a 13-win season in 2022 and a 14-win season last year, O’Connell is facing the biggest test of his career.

O’Connell came to the Vikings with a reputation of being an expert at working with quarterbacks. He has been elite in that area, as he brought out a Super Bowl-winning performance from Matthew Stafford with the Los Angeles Rams as the team’s offensive coordinator under head coach Sean McVay.

He was the “hot” assistant when the Vikings hired him, and he helped Kirk Cousins deliver a Pro Bowl performance that included a 65.9 completion percentage and 29 TDs in his first year. That led to a first-place finish in the NFC North even though the Minnesota defense was putrid.

When Cousins suffered an Achilles injury in 2023, O’Connell did a fine job of keeping the team afloat and in the playoff race until the final weeks of the regular season with non-descript quarterbacks Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall under center.

O’Connell was at his best last year after the Vikings lost rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy to a torn meniscus in the team’s first preseason game. The Vikings turned to backup Sam Darnold as the team’s QB1, and he had the best season of his career. Darnold threw 35 TD passes and completed 66.2 percent of his attempts.

The Vikings could have brought Darnold back, but a decision was made to let him leave through free agency. The team wants McCarthy to take over at quarterback because general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, O’Connell and the coaching staff believe he has a chance to rank with the best quarterbacks in the league.

This will be the biggest test of O’Connell’s coaching career. There’s no doubt about his knowledge of the quarterback position and he clearly has had excellent results. However, does that mean O’Connell will have success with every quarterback he collaborates with? There are no guarantees.

J.J. McCarthy Is Hoping To Join Elite Quarterbacks

Even if he is successful with McCarthy, it does not mean the quarterback will avoid errors and mistakes along the way. Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs is the top performer in the league based on the success he has had with three Super Bowl titles and five Super Bowl appearances. Expecting McCarthy to perform at a similar level would be foolhardy.

McCarthy was one of six first-round quarterbacks selected in the 2024 NFL Draft and the top performer to this point is Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders. He drove the team to the NFC title game in his first year in the league.

O’Connell and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown are too smart to fall into the trap of comparing McCarthy to other signal callers. Instead, they have a plan of development that challenges the young quarterback every time he takes snap.

McCarthy is on the field for the first time during the Vikings’ Organized Training Activity (OTA), and the brain trust has challenged the former Michigan quarterback to pursue improvement on every snap.

“We’re constantly making it feel like he’s growing,” O’Connell said. “But it’s never about him being comfortable or satisfied on any particular outcome because we’re building toward something much greater than a play here or there.”

These are the first steps that McCarthy is taking as he prepares to become the starting quarterback when the season opens in Week One against the Chicago Bears. The pressure on the quarterback and the head coach will ratchet up throughout the rest of the offseason, training camp and the start of the season.

The Vikings are hoping to battle the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers for superiority in the NFC North and perhaps the top seed in the NFC. The team appears to be loaded with talent at nearly all the key positions and the key to their success will be the development and performance of their young quarterback.

Nobody knows this better than O’Connell, the quarterback whisperer.