I think KOC is a very good HC

@"TBro" said:

@"StickyBun" said: The best HC in the NFL is about to be let go in New England.....is it because he can't coach? lol. That's rhetorical, its obvious he can. But also even a great football mind needs the conduit of a very good QB. The Vikings have started 4 different ones this year AND have a -6 turnover differential. That's the story of this season. 

Like I've said many times, watch the Redzone Channel and you'll see all kinds of 'curious' play calling. 

While I agree that he has been dealt a bad hand with the QB situation, I still have major concerns about his in game decision making. Who is going to hold him accountable for these head scratching decisions? Kwesi? It's not just play calling but also on the field personnel decisions and play design just like Warner pointed out. 

KOC seems only focused on the Offensive side of the ball which is also concerning. He let Donatell steer the ship into an Iceberg last year and sunk it. He did nothing to stop the bleeding when he should have been fired at the Bye Week and let Pettine take over for the rest of the year. Nothing has changed. Flores runs the defense and KOC runs the offense. When Flores leaves this offseason for a Head Coaching job, we will be back to square one praying that KOC can find a suitable replacement which will once again test his judgement which has come into question this year IMO and from several others in the Media. Even Flores was screaming at him to call a timeout instead of running a second boneheaded QB Sneak with a Center who has a history of back problems and a lack of lower body strength. KOC can't get out of his own way at times. Maybe it's been Cousins all along that has been making KOC look like a great offensive mind.  

I agree with all of you that he is a breath of fresh air compared to Zimmer and he is definitely a great culture builder but so is PJ Fleck. There are some eerily similar traits with these two. Both are struggling with in game decision making. 

Reckless Speculation: Brandon Staley will be our next Defensive Coordinator who was also KOC's coaching buddy with the Rams and strongly recommended he hire Donatell.  

Best case scenario for the fan base is that KOC continues to learn on the job & he improves on the bad play calling, bad play design, lack of situational football & that he eventually develops a killer instinct. Because the worst case scenario Is that KOC is Zimmer level stubborn & doesn't improve in any of these areas.
My early hot take is that if we draft a QB early, as we all hope & suspect that we will, both KOC & Kwesi will be extended prior to opening day next season.

I think I've seen enough to say that KOC is a good coach who makes mistakes, like all coaches. And like all coaches, there are areas where he can improve.

One thing I think he does really well is own up to his mistakes--even times when he probably shouldn't. Not all coaches do this. Zimmer would tend to blame everyone but himself. 

Another thing I think he excels at is the design of the offense. When the offense is healthy and humming and you have a competent trigger man, it's a sight to behold. Building a positive team culture is another quality that goes in his W column. 

I don't want anything to do with Belichick. If people are pissed off about drafting now, Belichick definitely wouldn't help 

Fans are gonna fan:

COLUMN: The following needs to be said because a large portion of the fan base has forgotten:

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is darn good at what he does.

Can we please stopping treating every loss like a case study on whether he should keep his job?https://t.co/KW0BHhLKHP

— Dane Mizutani (@DaneMizutani) December 19, 2023

@"StickyBun" said: Fans are gonna fan:

COLUMN: The following needs to be said because a large portion of the fan base has forgotten:

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is darn good at what he does.

Can we please stopping treating every loss like a case study on whether he should keep his job?https://t.co/KW0BHhLKHP

— Dane Mizutani (@DaneMizutani) December 19, 2023

Sorry to be a Debbie downer, but the jury is still out.  Despite having all of these offensive weapons, we never put teams away, that's a problem.  Our short yardage execution has been terrible, and our red zone efficiency is lacking.  Throw in a plenty of time management decisions and personnel management, the jury is still out.

I wasn't sold on his "track record" before becoming a coach because he didn't have one. 

We had (4) choices going into 2022, KOC, McDaniel, Ryans, and Harbaugh.  Right now, KOC looks to be the lesser of the choices.  The WILFs went with the opposite of Zimmer, nice, young, offensive minded, approachable.  

Next year will be a make it or break it year.

For me to believe he was a play caller for a Superbowl champion team I would need to go back in time, stand right next to him, and actually hear his play call right before each play.

@"FLVike" said: For me to believe he was a play caller for a Superbowl champion team I would need to go back in time, stand right next to him, and actually hear his play call right before each play.

@"pattersaur" said:

@"TBro" said:

@"StickyBun" said: The best HC in the NFL is about to be let go in New England.....is it because he can't coach? lol. That's rhetorical, its obvious he can. But also even a great football mind needs the conduit of a very good QB. The Vikings have started 4 different ones this year AND have a -6 turnover differential. That's the story of this season. 

Like I've said many times, watch the Redzone Channel and you'll see all kinds of 'curious' play calling. 

While I agree that he has been dealt a bad hand with the QB situation, I still have major concerns about his in game decision making. Who is going to hold him accountable for these head scratching decisions? Kwesi? It's not just play calling but also on the field personnel decisions and play design just like Warner pointed out. 

KOC seems only focused on the Offensive side of the ball which is also concerning. He let Donatell steer the ship into an Iceberg last year and sunk it. He did nothing to stop the bleeding when he should have been fired at the Bye Week and let Pettine take over for the rest of the year. Nothing has changed. Flores runs the defense and KOC runs the offense. When Flores leaves this offseason for a Head Coaching job, we will be back to square one praying that KOC can find a suitable replacement which will once again test his judgement which has come into question this year IMO and from several others in the Media. Even Flores was screaming at him to call a timeout instead of running a second boneheaded QB Sneak with a Center who has a history of back problems and a lack of lower body strength. KOC can't get out of his own way at times. Maybe it's been Cousins all along that has been making KOC look like a great offensive mind.  

I agree with all of you that he is a breath of fresh air compared to Zimmer and he is definitely a great culture builder but so is PJ Fleck. There are some eerily similar traits with these two. Both are struggling with in game decision making. 

Reckless Speculation: Brandon Staley will be our next Defensive Coordinator who was also KOC's coaching buddy with the Rams and strongly recommended he hire Donatell.  

The Flores situation feels critical, doesn’t it? The drop-off from him to Staley or whoever else we’d bring in seems like it will be substantial. I think @medaille is the one who’s been saying Flores’ status for next year is a big part of what direction we take in the offseason and I’m inclined to agree. This team, with Kirk back, could be very good in 2024. This team, with Kirk back, but no Flores and possibly no Hunter screams mediocrity to me. At that point moving on from Kirk may make more sense. It’s wild to put that much stock into one coach but Flo really has been that important. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"pattersaur" said:

@"TBro" said:

@"StickyBun" said: The best HC in the NFL is about to be let go in New England.....is it because he can't coach? lol. That's rhetorical, its obvious he can. But also even a great football mind needs the conduit of a very good QB. The Vikings have started 4 different ones this year AND have a -6 turnover differential. That's the story of this season. 

Like I've said many times, watch the Redzone Channel and you'll see all kinds of 'curious' play calling. 

While I agree that he has been dealt a bad hand with the QB situation, I still have major concerns about his in game decision making. Who is going to hold him accountable for these head scratching decisions? Kwesi? It's not just play calling but also on the field personnel decisions and play design just like Warner pointed out. 

KOC seems only focused on the Offensive side of the ball which is also concerning. He let Donatell steer the ship into an Iceberg last year and sunk it. He did nothing to stop the bleeding when he should have been fired at the Bye Week and let Pettine take over for the rest of the year. Nothing has changed. Flores runs the defense and KOC runs the offense. When Flores leaves this offseason for a Head Coaching job, we will be back to square one praying that KOC can find a suitable replacement which will once again test his judgement which has come into question this year IMO and from several others in the Media. Even Flores was screaming at him to call a timeout instead of running a second boneheaded QB Sneak with a Center who has a history of back problems and a lack of lower body strength. KOC can't get out of his own way at times. Maybe it's been Cousins all along that has been making KOC look like a great offensive mind.  

I agree with all of you that he is a breath of fresh air compared to Zimmer and he is definitely a great culture builder but so is PJ Fleck. There are some eerily similar traits with these two. Both are struggling with in game decision making. 

Reckless Speculation: Brandon Staley will be our next Defensive Coordinator who was also KOC's coaching buddy with the Rams and strongly recommended he hire Donatell.  

The Flores situation feels critical, doesn’t it? The drop-off from him to Staley or whoever else we’d bring in seems like it will be substantial. I think @medaille is the one who’s been saying Flores’ status for next year is a big part of what direction we take in the offseason and I’m inclined to agree. This team, with Kirk back, could be very good in 2024. This team, with Kirk back, but no Flores and possibly no Hunter screams mediocrity to me. At that point moving on from Kirk may make more sense. It’s wild to put that much stock into one coach but Flo really has been that important. 

Yes, I read that too and thought there was some merit to that.

But I don't know why losing Flores necessarily means losing his defense. Couldn't we just promote one of his assistants? Someone who will run the same defense? Teams have been doing that for decades. In fact, this really isn't Flores's defense. He modified it and made it his own, but it came from Belichick.

@"StickyBun" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"pattersaur" said:

@"TBro" said:

@"StickyBun" said: The best HC in the NFL is about to be let go in New England.....is it because he can't coach? lol. That's rhetorical, its obvious he can. But also even a great football mind needs the conduit of a very good QB. The Vikings have started 4 different ones this year AND have a -6 turnover differential. That's the story of this season. 

Like I've said many times, watch the Redzone Channel and you'll see all kinds of 'curious' play calling. 

While I agree that he has been dealt a bad hand with the QB situation, I still have major concerns about his in game decision making. Who is going to hold him accountable for these head scratching decisions? Kwesi? It's not just play calling but also on the field personnel decisions and play design just like Warner pointed out. 

KOC seems only focused on the Offensive side of the ball which is also concerning. He let Donatell steer the ship into an Iceberg last year and sunk it. He did nothing to stop the bleeding when he should have been fired at the Bye Week and let Pettine take over for the rest of the year. Nothing has changed. Flores runs the defense and KOC runs the offense. When Flores leaves this offseason for a Head Coaching job, we will be back to square one praying that KOC can find a suitable replacement which will once again test his judgement which has come into question this year IMO and from several others in the Media. Even Flores was screaming at him to call a timeout instead of running a second boneheaded QB Sneak with a Center who has a history of back problems and a lack of lower body strength. KOC can't get out of his own way at times. Maybe it's been Cousins all along that has been making KOC look like a great offensive mind.  

I agree with all of you that he is a breath of fresh air compared to Zimmer and he is definitely a great culture builder but so is PJ Fleck. There are some eerily similar traits with these two. Both are struggling with in game decision making. 

Reckless Speculation: Brandon Staley will be our next Defensive Coordinator who was also KOC's coaching buddy with the Rams and strongly recommended he hire Donatell.  

The Flores situation feels critical, doesn’t it? The drop-off from him to Staley or whoever else we’d bring in seems like it will be substantial. I think @medaille is the one who’s been saying Flores’ status for next year is a big part of what direction we take in the offseason and I’m inclined to agree. This team, with Kirk back, could be very good in 2024. This team, with Kirk back, but no Flores and possibly no Hunter screams mediocrity to me. At that point moving on from Kirk may make more sense. It’s wild to put that much stock into one coach but Flo really has been that important. 

Yes, I read that too and thought there was some merit to that.

But I don't know why losing Flores necessarily means losing his defense. Couldn't we just promote one of his assistants? Someone who will run the same defense? Teams have been doing that for decades. In fact, this really isn't Flores's defense. He modified it and made it his own, but it came from Belichick.

What I find humorous is does anyone else remember a few board members complaining about Flores and his possible bad influence on the team because of 'his disastrous time in Miami"? lol. 

Of course we can get someone else that runs a Flores-type D if he leaves and that's the direction the team wants to go. 

@"StickyBun" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"pattersaur" said:

@"TBro" said:

@"StickyBun" said: The best HC in the NFL is about to be let go in New England.....is it because he can't coach? lol. That's rhetorical, its obvious he can. But also even a great football mind needs the conduit of a very good QB. The Vikings have started 4 different ones this year AND have a -6 turnover differential. That's the story of this season. 

Like I've said many times, watch the Redzone Channel and you'll see all kinds of 'curious' play calling. 

While I agree that he has been dealt a bad hand with the QB situation, I still have major concerns about his in game decision making. Who is going to hold him accountable for these head scratching decisions? Kwesi? It's not just play calling but also on the field personnel decisions and play design just like Warner pointed out. 

KOC seems only focused on the Offensive side of the ball which is also concerning. He let Donatell steer the ship into an Iceberg last year and sunk it. He did nothing to stop the bleeding when he should have been fired at the Bye Week and let Pettine take over for the rest of the year. Nothing has changed. Flores runs the defense and KOC runs the offense. When Flores leaves this offseason for a Head Coaching job, we will be back to square one praying that KOC can find a suitable replacement which will once again test his judgement which has come into question this year IMO and from several others in the Media. Even Flores was screaming at him to call a timeout instead of running a second boneheaded QB Sneak with a Center who has a history of back problems and a lack of lower body strength. KOC can't get out of his own way at times. Maybe it's been Cousins all along that has been making KOC look like a great offensive mind.  

I agree with all of you that he is a breath of fresh air compared to Zimmer and he is definitely a great culture builder but so is PJ Fleck. There are some eerily similar traits with these two. Both are struggling with in game decision making. 

Reckless Speculation: Brandon Staley will be our next Defensive Coordinator who was also KOC's coaching buddy with the Rams and strongly recommended he hire Donatell.  

The Flores situation feels critical, doesn’t it? The drop-off from him to Staley or whoever else we’d bring in seems like it will be substantial. I think @medaille is the one who’s been saying Flores’ status for next year is a big part of what direction we take in the offseason and I’m inclined to agree. This team, with Kirk back, could be very good in 2024. This team, with Kirk back, but no Flores and possibly no Hunter screams mediocrity to me. At that point moving on from Kirk may make more sense. It’s wild to put that much stock into one coach but Flo really has been that important. 

Yes, I read that too and thought there was some merit to that.

But I don't know why losing Flores necessarily means losing his defense. Couldn't we just promote one of his assistants? Someone who will run the same defense? Teams have been doing that for decades. In fact, this really isn't Flores's defense. He modified it and made it his own, but it came from Belichick.

What I find humorous is does anyone else remember a few board members complaining about Flores and his possible bad influence on the team because of 'his disastrous time in Miami"? lol. 

Of course we can get someone else that runs a Flores-type D if he leaves and that's the direction the team wants to go. 

@"supafreak84" said:

@"StickyBun" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"pattersaur" said:

@"TBro" said:

@"StickyBun" said: The best HC in the NFL is about to be let go in New England.....is it because he can't coach? lol. That's rhetorical, its obvious he can. But also even a great football mind needs the conduit of a very good QB. The Vikings have started 4 different ones this year AND have a -6 turnover differential. That's the story of this season. 

Like I've said many times, watch the Redzone Channel and you'll see all kinds of 'curious' play calling. 

While I agree that he has been dealt a bad hand with the QB situation, I still have major concerns about his in game decision making. Who is going to hold him accountable for these head scratching decisions? Kwesi? It's not just play calling but also on the field personnel decisions and play design just like Warner pointed out. 

KOC seems only focused on the Offensive side of the ball which is also concerning. He let Donatell steer the ship into an Iceberg last year and sunk it. He did nothing to stop the bleeding when he should have been fired at the Bye Week and let Pettine take over for the rest of the year. Nothing has changed. Flores runs the defense and KOC runs the offense. When Flores leaves this offseason for a Head Coaching job, we will be back to square one praying that KOC can find a suitable replacement which will once again test his judgement which has come into question this year IMO and from several others in the Media. Even Flores was screaming at him to call a timeout instead of running a second boneheaded QB Sneak with a Center who has a history of back problems and a lack of lower body strength. KOC can't get out of his own way at times. Maybe it's been Cousins all along that has been making KOC look like a great offensive mind.  

I agree with all of you that he is a breath of fresh air compared to Zimmer and he is definitely a great culture builder but so is PJ Fleck. There are some eerily similar traits with these two. Both are struggling with in game decision making. 

Reckless Speculation: Brandon Staley will be our next Defensive Coordinator who was also KOC's coaching buddy with the Rams and strongly recommended he hire Donatell.  

The Flores situation feels critical, doesn’t it? The drop-off from him to Staley or whoever else we’d bring in seems like it will be substantial. I think @medaille is the one who’s been saying Flores’ status for next year is a big part of what direction we take in the offseason and I’m inclined to agree. This team, with Kirk back, could be very good in 2024. This team, with Kirk back, but no Flores and possibly no Hunter screams mediocrity to me. At that point moving on from Kirk may make more sense. It’s wild to put that much stock into one coach but Flo really has been that important. 

Yes, I read that too and thought there was some merit to that.

But I don't know why losing Flores necessarily means losing his defense. Couldn't we just promote one of his assistants? Someone who will run the same defense? Teams have been doing that for decades. In fact, this really isn't Flores's defense. He modified it and made it his own, but it came from Belichick.

What I find humorous is does anyone else remember a few board members complaining about Flores and his possible bad influence on the team because of 'his disastrous time in Miami"? lol. 

Of course we can get someone else that runs a Flores-type D if he leaves and that's the direction the team wants to go. 

I thought the hire carried some risk since he had never been a defensive coordinator before and if he flopped or didn't live up to expectation, it might be difficult to fire him due to his pending litigation against the NFL and the Dolphins. I'm thrilled it's worked out as well as it has and now I'm worried about trying to retain him...which might be tough.