When Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was left out of the finalists for AP NFL Coach of the Year, it was very disappointing. He led the Vikings to a 13-4 record and the franchise’s first division title since 2017.
On Thursday, the award was given to New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll. The full voting results were released and O’Connell finished in sixth place.
AP NFL Coach of the Year voting breakdown:
5 points for 1; 3 points for 2; 1 point for 3.
First-place votes:
1. Brian Daboll – 16
2. Kyle Shanahan – 12
3. Doug Pederson – 5
4. Sean McDermott – 7
5. Nick Sirianni – 6
6. Kevin O'Connell – 1
7. Dan Campbell – 1
8. Andy Reid – 2 pic.twitter.com/iA6bkO9d8g— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 10, 2023
The voting was different this year in that you gave your top three. O’Connell got one first-place vote, four second-place votes, and six third-place votes. He ended up on 11 of the 50 ballots.
Overall, it was a very solid showing for the first-year head coach O’Connell. This was a very difficult award to win, as there were many great candidates.