Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images
Multiple NFL teams have interest in trading for Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, per Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer (3:17 mark).
FOX Sports: NFL @NFLonFOX
⬇️ @JayGlazer has a look at the potential coaching carousel as we head into the final Sunday, including multiple teams having interest in attempting to trade for Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell pic.twitter.com/s1LyNrWKiS
“There are multiple teams that actually are considering trying to trade for Kevin O’Connell,” Glazer began.
“And the reason why, next year, the last year of his deal, they’ve had no contract talks yet at all. Look if you’re a team out there, saying why not take a shot, see if we can do it. Maybe the Vikings don’t let it happen, but also Kevin O’Connell kind of holds all the cards thinking, ‘Hey maybe I’m not going to re-sign there, so you might as well get something for me.'”
Later in the day, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio cited a Vikings organization source who emphatically stated that the team isn’t trading O’Connell.
O’Connell is in his third season with the Vikings, who have gone 14-2 this season. Minnesota is visiting the Detroit Lions on Sunday evening, and the winner of that game will earn the NFC North title as well as the conference’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
From the Vikings’ perspective, it would make a lot of sense to sign O’Connell to a long-term extension.
In his first season, Minnesota went 13-4 and won the NFC North. That marked a five-win improvement from the year before.
In his second season, Minnesota remained competitive despite injuries, namely quarterback Kirk Cousins to a midseason Achilles tear and superstar wideout Justin Jefferson for seven games with a hamstring ailment. The Vikings were 6-4 but lost four games by 12 combined points down the stretch and finished 7-10.
In his third season, the Vikings went into the playoffs with a brand-new QB1 in Sam Darnold, who has been a superstar in Minnesota after struggling to find his footing in the league over his first six years. Darnold has thrown for 4,153 yards and 35 touchdowns, and the Vikings are on the precipice of earning their first No. 1 seed since 1998. Minnesota is also Top 10 in scoring offense and defense, and O’Connell looks like the Coach of the Year frontrunner, too.
Needless to say, O’Connell has been excellent in Minnesota, who should in theory open their checkbooks to give him anything he wants to stay long-term.
So that makes the Glazer report all the more puzzling. If anything, talks should be centered around long-term contract extension news, not a potential trade. That isn’t the case though with O’Connell now staring down the final year of his deal in 2025.
Perhaps it all becomes much ado about nothing and O’Connell ends up signing a deal this offseason to stay aboard. In the meantime, though, the Vikings have their biggest game of the season up ahead in Detroit as the team searches for the first Super Bowl title in franchise history.