Going into the off-season, the Minnesota Vikings organization was in turmoil, jettisoning the head coach, Mike Zimmer, and General Manager, Rick Spielman. The mass change over in the front office and coaching staff lead many fans and media members to speculate that this could also mean an end of the Kirk Cousins era in Minnesota. But what does Kevin O'Connell mean for the Kirk Cousins situation?
O'Connell's and Cousins' time together
In 2017 Kevin O'Connell took over the QB coaching position with Washington, coming from the San Francisco 49ers as a special assistant. O'Connell only coached Cousins for one season before Cousins moved on to the Vikings. With just one season of working together, it's difficult to tell what effect O'Connell had on Cousins. However, when O'Connell started with Washington he did say he believed that Cousins had more athleticism than many realized and was going to encourage him to use his feet more. The idea of running and being more mobile did play out as Cousins had more attempts and yards on the ground than he's had in any season under O'Connell.
"You know what? I think it's all situational, you know, understanding maybe it's in the red zone, maybe it's third-down when a defense drops eight in the coverage and you got a little bit extra time to hold it and try to see if Jamison [Crowder] or Jordan [Reed] can work their way open maybe verse double coverage and then if all else fails, he's plenty athletic enough to go steal us a first down or two," ---Kevin O'Connell
Cousins is now five years older and perhaps not as quick as he once was but perhaps this will be something O'Connell will work with Cousins on once again. One criticism some have of Cousins is he's too stationary in the pocket, O'Connell might work to remedy that.
Looking at the stats for 2017 Cousins didn't have a standout season under O'Connell and did take a career-high in sacks. How much of hat is on Cousins and O'Connell and how much is on the offensive line is hard to tell but perhaps the increased effort to run and be mobile played a role in that.
Chemistry, a long-lost component in the Zimmer era
The lack of chemistry with the head coach became very apparent in the 2021 season. The fact that Mike Zimmer and Cousins hadn't spent much time together discussing the offense became public. It's no wonder there seemed to be a disconnect from a fan's point of view because there was! Cousins clearly didn't feel like he could talk to his head coach and reportedly has asked and nearly begged multiple times to take with Zimmer before Zimmer relented and began watching film with Cousins.
With Kevin O'Connell coming in, it should be a drastic change in that dynamic between the head coach and the QB. First of all, Zimmer seems to have never really wanted Cousins and O'Connell appears to be excited to work with him.
Newly hired General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's primary emphasis in his introductory press conference was building a more collaborative environment. By all accounts, O'Connell fits this bill which was likely a very important reason why he was hired. Instead of having to beg the head coach to work with him, Cousins now has a head coach that is not only willing to work with him but absolutely considers it a necessity.
Will O'Connell keep Cousins?
Well, considering O'Connell is high on Cousins that leads us to believe that they will in fact keep Cousins rather than trade him as some in the media have suggested. There is a great deal of argument as to where Cousins falls on the pantheon of NFL QBs but it's safe to say he's possibly a top 8-13 QB in the NFL. A QB of Counsins' level are a trick situation. Everyone wants a Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady, but they're hard to come by. So, while you'd like to upgrade you'll never get an upgrade in free agency, and trying to find one in the draft is like winning the lottery. However, Cousins is due $45m in 2022 which is not feasible for a team trying right the ship quickly. While it is most likely they do work out something with Cousins to make his cap hit more palatable, it's also possible Cousins isn't willing to take less to stay. We'll have to wait and see.
