CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala had a chance to go around the NFL Scouting Combine and get the attending head coaches’ thoughts on a hard-hitting question: Which current NFL head coach would run the fastest 40-yard dash?
Kinkhabwala got a chance to get responses from the likes of Doug Pederson (Jacksonville Jaguars), Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns), Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons), Brian Callahan (Tennessee Titans), Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals) and Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota Vikings).
All the coaches listed off names of some of the young guns around the league (Sean McVay, DeMeco Ryans, Mike McDaniel, etc.), but nobody thought they stood a chance in the competition. That is until Kinkhabwala asked Minnesota’s headman about his chances in the hypothetical head-to-head:
“I don’t know if my hamstrings would survive, but I would still give myself 40 yards to beat anybody out there.”
When you look at the head coach’s Relative Athletic Score coming out of San Diego State in 2008, the confidence is well-warranted. O’Connell had an elite speed grade as he ran a 9.56 40-yard dash, and ended the cycle with an elite 9.64 RAS, the highest of any quarterback in that draft class. For comparison, one of the top comparisons for O’Connell, according to the site, is Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen coming out of Wyoming in 2018 (he only ran a 9.75 in the 40).
The confidence from O’Connell makes it easy to see why the players who have met with the Vikings all have such glowing endorsements for the staff.
