Will the Vikings trade quarterback Sam Darnold after the season? Will they trade quarterback J.J. McCarthy?
Will they trade another quarterback on the roster?
Jay Glazer of Fox reports that multiple teams have expressed interest in trading for O’Connell.
We’ve been banging the drum for weeks that more teams should pursue established head coaches from other teams, if there’s reason to think the relationship is a year or so away from imploding.
Previously, there was no reason to think the Vikings and O’Connell are on the outs. However, O’Connell has only one year left on his contract. The Vikings specifically decided not to extend O’Connell’s contract before the season. Now, after what could end up being a 15-2 season and the top seed in the NFC, O’Connell has earned significantly more than he would have gotten before the season.
And so, with a season left and clear indication that other teams would want him, O’Connell could become one the rarest things in all of football — a coaching free agent.
So what will the Vikings do? Take what they can and promote, say, Brian Flores? Or give O’Connell what he wants and renew the vows?
“We’re looking forward to a great future with these guys,” Vikings owner Mark Wilf recently told Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, referring to both O’Connell and G.M. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. “We look forward to having those conversations with each of them after the season. We have tremendous confidence, and we look forward to their continued leadership of the franchise.”
Vikings fans can exhale now.
Still, the Vikings can’t afford to screw this up. They have one of the very best coaches in all of football. He’s Bud Grant with a smile. And he could provide long-term stability — along with a long-coveted championship, or two. Or three.
So, Minnesota, it’s time to pay up. And the sooner the better. The fact that other teams would be willing to pay O’Connell and to give up draft picks for him underscores the importance of doing whatever it takes to keep him.
Before it’s too late.
If it isn’t already too late.
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