MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings plan to hire Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell to be the 10th head coach in the franchise's 61-year history, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
A deal with O'Connell cannot be completed until after Los Angeles plays the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl on Feb. 13. But the Vikings on Wednesday night had begun informing the other finalists in their coaching search they would not get the job, sources said.
The Vikings spent most of Wednesday interviewing Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, but never made him a job offer, said a source with knowledge of the discussions. According to multiple news media reports, Harbaugh has informed Michigan he is returning to the school.
The Vikings chose O'Connell, 36, after conducting a second interview in Los Angeles with him on Monday. The Vikings also had second interviews with Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
O'Connell, a former quarterback, was Washington quarterbacks coach in 2017, Kirk Cousins' final season as the starter there, and would figure to run a similar system in Minnesota to the one the Vikings first installed with Kevin Stefanski and Gary Kubiak in 2019. O'Connell also worked with new Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in San Francisco in 2016, when he was on the 49ers staff doing special projects under Chip Kelly.
O'Connell was Washington's offensive coordinator in 2019 and was hired for the same position with Rams in 2020. The Vikings' search committee came away thrilled with how O'Connell would lead the team, a source said.
