While the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals prepare to face off in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium, several teams are looking to fill vacant head coaching positions.
The NFL has already seen several former coordinators like Brian Daboll and Josh McDaniels land with the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively, but there are still spots up for grabs with a number of candidates in the running. One organization that has been frequently in the news is the Minnesota Vikings, who have held a number of interviews in the past few weeks, including with Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
While Morris received a second interview with Minnesota, it seems they are going with another Los Angeles staffer as they will reportedly hire offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network:
The #Vikings are zeroing in on #Rams OC Kevin O’Connell as their head coach, sources tell me and @RapSheet. The deal can’t be finalized until after the Super Bowl.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 3, 2022
Although Minnesota had a respectable offense throughout the 2021 season, there were too many ill-timed droughts under former head coach Mike Zimmer. Working alongside Sean McVay, O’Connell was able to help the Rams become the sixth-highest scoring team in the league and will now be tasked with elevating the Vikings to the next level.
As has been the trend, L.A. would be losing yet another coordinator as teams look to replicate their success on both sides of the field. In the past several offseason, L.A. has seen Brandon Staley, Matt LeFleur, and Zac Taylor all leave for head coaching gigs and O’Connell looks to be the next in line.
Fortunately for the Rams, they will have O’Connell on the sidelines for Super Bowl LVI and hopefully can send him to Minnesota as a champion.
