MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings officially reached a deal with Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell to make him the 10th head coach in team history on Wednesday, putting the finishing touches on a regime that could define much of the Wilf family's third decade of team ownership.
O'Connell, three days removed from helping the Rams win Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, signed his deal with the Vikings on Wednesday. He will be introduced in a news conference on Thursday afternoon, a day after the Rams' victory parade.
The 36-year-old becomes the second-youngest coach in Vikings history behind only Norm Van Brocklin, who was 35 when he coached the franchise's first game on Sept. 17, 1961. O'Connell joins Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings' 40-year-old general manager who'd previously worked with O'Connell in San Francisco but developed a closer relationship with the coach as the new GM led the final stages of a search that confirmed how much their philosophies aligned.
"As I spent time with Kevin during the interview process, it became immediately clear he will be a great partner in building this football team for long-term success," Adofo-Mensah said. "He understands what is critical to leading a team that wins at the highest level, and he has an ability to simplify the complex, which will help us in problem-solving in all football areas. He is a genuinely positive person who will help create a high-energy internal environment."
O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah begin working together as the Vikings make something of an organizational pivot, toward an approach that's expected to give players a greater voice in the direction of the team than they had before. After the Vikings fired general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer on Jan. 10, co-owner Mark Wilf said the team was looking for "strong leaders, strong communicators and strong collaborators" in its coaching and GM searches, while players like linebacker Eric Kendricks and tackle Brian O'Neill said they looked forward to a shift where people across the organization have more say in how the Vikings operate.
"Winning games is a huge part of that culture, because there's a lot of stressors that become involved when you lose games and people's emotions get tied into things," Kendricks said. "I think from an overall standpoint, a culture where communication is put at the forefront and no matter what your role is on the staff, you [have] a voice and being able to communicate things that you think could help facilitate wins. I think just having that voice, no matter how big your role is, is important, to listen up and take each other's feelings into account."
The Vikings had been without a head coach for 37 days, and were unable to begin contract negotiations with O'Connell until after the Super Bowl, but the team has worked on assembling its coaching staff with O'Connell's input. The Vikings last week hired former Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell to run their defense, and O'Connell could bring a Rams assistant like running backs coach Thomas Brown or tight ends coach Wes Phillips to Minnesota as his offensive coordinator.
The team's front office — including chief operating officer Andrew Miller, who negotiated O'Connell's contract — returned from the Super Bowl in Los Angeles on Monday, and work on the final details of O'Connell's deal continued into Tuesday evening. Adofo-Mensah reportedly received a four-year deal, and the Vikings have typically worked to keep their coach and general manager on similar contract lengths.
When the team hired Zimmer in 2014, it initially gave the coach a four-year deal. The Vikings then gave Zimmer extensions in 2016, 2019 and 2020, also reworking Spielman's deal in 2019 and 2020 to keep the expiration date of his deal the same as Zimmer's.
