Reporters covering the Vikings in Cleveland last month experienced a sharp edge to Kevin O’Connell that would surprise the public. But it drew smiles and nods from several members of the organization who say the friendly head coach has been known to show some bite to them on rare occasions as well. “K.
O.’s viewed as this great human being, this nice guy,” said defensive coordinator Brian Flores. “But he’s got a little bit of a dark side, you know, in the football realm.
And I like it when that side comes out.” It came out in Cleveland because of X posts by reporters, including this one, after O’Connell and Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz were seen talking on the field as injured Vikings receiver Thomas Thayer was being tended to following a hit to the head. The posts speculated, wrongly as it turned out, that O’Connell might have been asking Schwartz to dial down the physicality in a one-sided practice his defense was dominating.
Social media aggregators who follow the team seized on the posts, turned speculation into fact and, a day later, O’Connell respectfully gave members of the Fourth Estate a taste of his dark side. O’Connell talked to the Minnesota Star Tribune via Zoom for 40 minutes Friday morning about that “dark side” and how his primary focus since last season has been on creating a playing style that exudes the toughness and physicality he admits was lacking in his first two seasons but has flourished during the team’s 2-0 st.