O’Connell’s “Dream” Coaching Staff

I did this ridiculous exercise when the Minnesota Vikings had no head coach. I might as well do it when the they have a head coach. Due to his team playing in the Super Bowl, Kevin O’Connell can’t really dig into his new job until he’s finished with his old one. Since he’s busy for a while here’s a stab at his “dream” coaching staff.

Head Coach

Kevin O’Connell

Offensive Coordinator

Wes Phillips

Defensive Coordinator

Patrick Graham

Special Teams Coordinator

Dwayne Stukes

Quarterbacks

Sean Mannion

Running Backs

Ron Gould

Receivers

Keenan McCardell

Tight Ends Coach

Kyle Rudolph

Offensive Line

Mike Munchak

Defensive Line

Andre Patterson

Linebackers

Antonio Pierce

Defensive Backs

Gerald Alexander

***

I really hope that Andre Patterson remains with the Vikings. He’s one of the best, if not the best, defensive line coach in the league. I’m not sure that he’d stay if he’s not the defensive coordinator. He probably shouldn’t stay if he’s not the defensive coordinator. He’s been doing this for far too long to accept anything less. I’d be thrilled if he’s the defensive coordinator. I’d be even more thrilled if he and Patrick Graham are part of O’Connell’s coaching staff. 

Of the current Vikings coaches, I think that Keenan McCardell is the most likely to remain with the team. He has the endorsement of Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and the rest of the receivers. That’s all that I need to hear. 

A couple of the coaches have Cal connections. Ron Gould is currently Stanford’s running back coach. It’d be nice if the Vikings got him out of Palo Alto. He was Cal’s running backs coach when they were sending Marshawn Lynch, Justin Forsett, Shane Vereen, J.J. Arrington, and Jahvid Best to the NFL. Gould is a great coach. Gerald Alexander was the defensive backs coach for Brian Flores on the Miami Dolphins. Before that, he was molding Cal’s DBs into NFL players. Alexander is a great coach. 

I have current Vikings quarterback Sean Mannion as the quarterbacks coach. I have him as a coach mostly because I don’t want to see him as a Vikings quarterback. All of the talk about Mannion’s quarterback role on the team has been about how smart he is, how well he works with Kirk Cousins, how good he is with the quarterbacks in the classroom and on the field. Sounds like the makings of a terrific coach. Perhaps a better coach than he ever was as a player.