Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell was voted the 2024 AP NFL Coach of the Year on Thursday night at NFL Honors.
O'Connell received 25 first-place votes and 361 points to win the honor. Lions head coach Dan Campbell finished second with 283 points, narrowly trailing his divisional foe in first-place votes with 19. The remainder of the finalists were the Chiefs' Andy Reid (119 points), the Commanders' Dan Quinn (85) and the Broncos' Sean Payton (71).
He led the Vikings to a 14-3 mark and the brink of the No. 1 seed, a significant achievement considering the team's offseason turnover and initial uncertainty at the QB position.
With the NFC North turning out to be one of the toughest divisions this past season, many did not expect Minnesota to seriously compete as it worked through a minor rebuild and the drafting of a new franchise quarterback in rookie J.J. McCarthy.
And the odds only seemed to get worse after McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury before the regular season even started, throwing into question the Vikings' offensive plans.
But O'Connell kept the faith and turned to Sam Darnold to lead Minnesota through the turmoil, guiding his quarterback to a career campaign unlike anything the former first-round pick had experienced previously. Under O'Connell's tutelage, Darnold posted personal bests in passing yards (4,319), passing touchdowns (35) and completion percentage (66.2), also ranking top-five in the league for the first two categories. This ultimately earned Darnold his first Pro Bowl nod.
Team success followed suit, and the Vikings exceeded expectations with their 14-win season, including taking a nine-game winning streak into a Week 18 matchup with the Detroit Lions with the No. 1 seed on the line. Though Minnesota lost that game and finished second in the NFC North, it still had a better record than two other division winners and tied for the most victories ever by a non-No. 1 seed.
It also marked the second-most wins in franchise history, an impressive finish for O'Connell's squad.
Unfortunately, the Vikings' run of success came to an end in the Wild Card Round when they lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 27-9, but nevertheless their performance to reach that point has earned their coach his first AP honor.
In his three seasons as the Vikings head coach, O'Connell has put together a 34-17 record overall, including winning the NFC North in 2022 and leading the team to two playoff appearances.
For his efforts this season, O'Connell was rewarded with a multiyear contract extension, keeping the QB whisperer, and now Coach of the Year, in Minnesota for the foreseeable future.
