Because of course he is
Along with Jared Allen finally getting enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Minnesota Vikings got another bit of good news at Thursday night’s NFL Honors ceremony, although this one was a little more expected.
KOach of the Year!! pic.twitter.com/DzAk4HZH2o
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) February 7, 2025
Kevin O’Connell was named the 2024 NFL Coach of the Year at tonight’s ceremony, making him the first Vikings’ head coach to win the award since Bud Grant way back in 1969.
O’Connell led the Vikings, who were universally picked to be awful in 2024, to a 14-win season, the second-highest total in franchise history. He’s now the only coach in the history of the team to have multiple seasons of 13 or more coaching victories, which is pretty impressive considering that he’s only been on the job for three years.
This season, O’Connell’s Vikings put together a nine-game winning streak, the third-longest in the history of the team. He also saw the renaissance of quarterback Sam Darnold, another move that was universally derided by the Really Smart Football People™ but wound up working out just fine for the Vikings.
O’Connell collected 25 of a possible 50 first-place votes, along with 18 second-place votes and seven third-place votes. None of the 50 voters for the award had him lower than third on their ballot. He crushed the runner-up, some guy from Detroit, by 78 points.
Congratulations to Kevin O’Connell on bringing home the hardware as the 2024 NFL Coach of the Year!
