Kevin O’Connell has received tons of praise for guiding the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record. A Hall of Fame quarterback said he’d enjoy playing for the third-year head coach on Friday.
Peyton Manning was asked which head coach in the playoffs he’d most like to play for. He told Kevin Clark of the This Is Football podcast that he would choose O’Connell, saying he recently texted the Vikings’ coach.
But I sent [the text] to O’Connell and I said, ‘….I have a lot of respect for the way you coach.’ I just like how he does it.
And I’m just I’m just an observer…. And I think that moment [where] Darnold jumps into the locker room and [the team celebrates] a couple weeks ago.
So [O’Connell was] just standing back watching. This kind of tells you everything you know about [him] that, ‘Hey, it’s about the players. It’s about me putting them in a position to succeed.
‘I’m just going to kind of sit back and watch this.’ But you see this kindof smile on his face. He’s got no ego.
….I think he’s a dynamic play caller.
Manning admitted he doesn’t know O’Connell personally but is a fan from afar. It makes sense that Manning would want to play for O’Connell due to the coach’s quarterback background and willingness to be aggressive and throw the ball.
O’Connell can further impress Manning on Monday night during the Manning Cast on ESPN2. If he can devise a gameplan to beat the Rams, Peyton and Eli Manning will spend a lot of air time breaking down O’Connell’s offense.
I asked Peyton Manning which coach in these playoffs he’d most want to play for.
“I”m going with Kevin O’Connell.”
KOC praise, Vikings praise, Darnold praise ahead of MNF game between the Rams-Vikings. EXCELLENT This Is Football with Peyton today. pic.twitter.com/fMExiu1kt8
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) January 10, 2025
