By Jim Souhan
Vikings ownership took a major chance when they chose Kevin O’Connell over Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh is a great coach. He came within one completion of winning a Super Bowl with the 49ers, then won a national title at Michigan.
O’Connell was yet another Sean McVay acolyte, and, as the Belichick coaching tree proves, you never know whether acolytes drove winning or merely rode in the passenger’s seat.
If this were a fight between O’Connell and Harbaugh, Harbaugh would currently be in the concussion protocol.
O’Connell has won his last seven games. His quarterbacks for all but 11 plays of that streak: Carson Wentz, who was out of football last summer, and J.J. McCarthy, who somehow lost the backup quarterback job while vying for the starting quarterback job.
Harbaugh is on a five-game losing streak.
Which is fascinating.
What does every NFL franchise want? A great coach paired with a prototypical franchise quarterback.
Harbaugh has Justin Herbert, who looks and throws like a Hall of Famer. Harbaugh has a great defensive player in safety Derwin James, Jr. He has a dynamic first-round running back. And his team has averaged 10 points per game over their last five games.
O’Connell is winning with quarterbacks who wouldn’t command a fourth-round draft pick in a trade. Sunday, in the Vikings’ 9-3 victory over the Bears, he won by relying on an aging running back (Aaron Jones) and Wentz.
Of course, the most brilliant coaching performance of this NFL Sunday belonged to Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Give O’Connell credit for that, too, in that he was willing to hire Flores, a head coach in waiting.
Wentz has done his job the last two games.
Now imagine if Kyler Murray can reintroduce the big play to the Vikings’ offense.
This could be a special season, thanks largely to the decision the Wilfs made following the 2021 season.
-The hot listen: On Chin Music at TalkNorth.com, LaVelle E. Neal III and I talked about the Twins’ promise.
-The hot rec: After my friend Chris Hine left for Philly, the Star Tribune hired Sarah Todd to cover the Wolves. I’ll miss Chris. I hear great things about Sarah.
-Want to advertise with TalkNorth.com? Contact VP of business development Tami Henderson at THenderson@talknorth.com