This offseason, Kevin O’Connell was hired to be the Minnesota Vikings new head coach after Mike Zimmer leaving to take charge of Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen. This seemed to bring new energy into the building and also brought out some hidden truths.
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Mike Zimmer was the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2014 until the end of the 2021 season. Zimmer’s time in Minnesota resulted in a 74-59-1 record which also includes a disappointing 2-3 record in the playoffs.
The Vikings were always a middle of the pack team with Zimmer, who also brought very few exceptional seasons. They never had a dominant defense and complimentary offense in all of Zimmer’s time with the franchise.
After the 2021 season, due to internal conflicts and frankly no actual success, the new Vikings regime decided to move on from the long tenured coach. In his place came Kevin O’Connell.
O’Connell last served as the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay. The Rams, who just won the Super Bowl, boasted a successful offense powered by Cooper Kupp.
Kupp achieved the rare triple crown: most receptions, touchdowns, and yards. O’Connell will now try to recreate the same success with the Vikings offense and Justin Jefferson.
Mike Zimmer leaving as head coach brought some unknown truths to light involving Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen
After the firing of Zimmer, the Vikings cornerbacks coach, Terance Newman, came to speak about the situation in the locker room. Along with him, a former coordinator of Zimmer also did not have nice things to say.
Newman knew countless players “dreaded going to work” towards the end of Zimmer’s tenure because of his intense coaching style and boss-worker relationship. “It became toxic,” Newman says. “It was a trickle effect. If players are dreading getting cussed out and shit like that, then it’s going to make it a long day for everybody.”
Additionally, the coordinator had this to say. “Because,” this coach says, “the devil’s gone. Satan is out of the building.”
Although the complete truth is not revealed, player such as Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen have been seen to have heated arguments with Zimmer on the sidelines during games. O’Connell comes from the Rams and McVay, who is known to be the ultimate players’ coach.
We will see soon whether O’Connell’s drastically different coaching style yields better results for the Vikings in the NFC North and in the playoffs.
