Vikings Kevin O’Connell NFL Coach of the Year Odds Skyrocketing

By Ted Schwerzler |

Updated: Dec 30, 2024

Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings — Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Week 17 came and went for the Minnesota Vikings and Kevin O’Connell coached his team to another victory. He had already been trending towards Coach of the Year honors. At this point, it might as well be a forgone conclusion.

Kevin O’Connell is going to pull a Bud Grant for the Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings have had some good seasons throughout franchise history. The 1998 team was the last to win 14 games. They went 15-1 on their way to the NFC Championship game. Head coach Dennis Green did not win Coach of the Year that season. Kevin O’Connell is on his way to cementing his name in franchise history.

Sportsbook	Odds	Position
FanDuel	-1800	1st
DraftKings	-1000	1st

Although DraftKings has the odds slightly tighter with O’Connell ahead of Dan Campbell (+650), the gap is likely too sizable to be made up. Minnesota and Detroit square off next week in a gargantuan matchup, but that result shouldn’t determine the outcome.

O’Connell talked earlier this season about how impactful the season he spent around legendary coach Bud Grant was. If he is able to secure Coach of the Year honors, he will be Minnesota’s first coach to do so since grant in 1969.

This year O’Connell has taken a team projected for just 6.5 wins and turned them into a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Sam Darnold is in line for a massive payday because of his head coach. The postgame locker room celebrations have become something of legend.

There are a lot of people that love everything about this football team.

And that's what makes this thing so special.#Skol pic.twitter.com/8c2Rp3EqUt
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 30, 2024

O’Connell is not yet 40 years old and is just three seasons into his head coaching career. He owns a 34-16 record and has won at least 13 games in two of the three seasons he has been in charge. The Vikings would be best served to offer their leader a contract extension, and it might as well be infinite at this point.

Often times the Coach of the Year award is given to a team that outperformed expectations. That’s a fair reason to offer up O’Connell, but it’s also not reflective of just how impressive he has been.