Kevin O’Connell Talks Coaching Journey, Experience in London, Carson Wentz, O-Line & Center Position

Kevin O’Connell Talks Coaching Journey, Experience in London, Carson Wentz, O-Line & Center Position

All right, good afternoon. Um, just finished up our uh our Friday practice. Thought the folks here did a heck of a job um with the uh with the surface and and we had a little moisture out there, but team got a full day of work and it was some good work um as we get ready to play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. It’s been a good week here so far and hoping to uh wrap it up here and and just wanted to once again take the opportunity to thank everybody um here at Hambury and and all the people with the league and and absolutely our staff with the Vikings for the multi kind of week trip that they’ve put together uh for us. Just giving you an update on some game statuses. Uh Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Michael Jurgens, JJ McCarthy, Brian O’Neal, and Andrew Van Ginkle will be ruled out. and then Tyler Batty, CJ Ham, and Ben Yurrosk will be questionable uh for the uh game. Uh all three of those guys um were able to get some work or really in Tyler and CJ’s chance, they’re healthy and we’ll see what it looks like for the 48 to get those guys up and going. And then Ben Yurosk was able to get some uh limited work in today and is is progressing and feeling pretty good. So, we’ll see how the group looks this weekend. What’s your confidence on whoever else? Yeah, I got a lot of confidence uh you know in in the group that we’re going to put out there and and they’ve had a good week so they’re ready to go. Yep. It’s, you know, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, we’re out there, you know, very similar structure to what we would normally have. And um outside of you know practicing where we’re living um it’s been uh it’s been very much the same. Kevin I want to ask you about Sunday’s coming to Cleveland Browns of course they gave your first coaching role back in 2015. How much you that playing when you were a player since then working how do you feel the ground something that’s helped you as a coach now seen by a lot of people as someone who has excellent working for? Yeah, I you know it’s it’s a it’s a unique part of my football journey. Um specifically my first coaching job um at it really as a player. I had spent a lot of time with Mike Pton when he was the defensive coordinator as the of the New York Jets and I was still a player oddly enough being told I should think about coaching even when I was a player which isn’t always the best thing uh to hear. Um, and then P takes a chance and gives me an opportunity to coach the quarterbacks. And one of the quarterbacks in that room was Josh Macau, who’s now my quarterback coach here and and does a tremendous job. Um, but I learned so much that year. Um, learned uh basically that fasttracking of what you think you would be as a coach and how to coach a room and and play a role on a staff and try to help a team as best you can. even maybe with limited experience, you’re always learning uh on the job and kind of learning that, you know, trait of figured outness uh which is unique and important to coaching. Um obviously the time around Tom Brady kind of started it all and it wasn’t just Tom, it was coach Bichc, Josh McDaniels, a whole bunch of really really unique special players on that team. um that really you know everywhere I looked there could be something to absorb and see that would help uh not only in the present of my football journey but you know where I’ve ended up going with it in the co in the coaching space and then Sean McVey is although I’m uh about 10 months older than him um he is one of my mentors and one of my very good friends that has taught me so much about u you know being being yourself and being authentic as a head coach and then trying to lead from a certain category that’s, you know, built around integrity and and how you treat people and how you communicate with people. Um, you know, and and and just getting the most out of players and really all the relationships that you form when you get this job. Justin Jefferson said last week in Dublin, the whole trip to Europe feels a little bit like summer camp. Yeah. What was your highlight so far? Well, I’m probably the wrong guy to ask just because I tend to be, you know, pretty attached to where we’re staying and and and and what we have going on. But my highlight has just been seeing uh, you know, the the players when we were in Dublin, you see them when we got done the walkthrough on Saturday, you see guys go out and um, you know, go around town and and all them coming back with souvenirs and things and and kind of making the most of that trip. And then having been here, you know, twice before, uh, playing in Tottenham here twice in our first three years. This is our third time. Guys kind of know what to expect, but at the same time, they’ve really looked forward to the time together. Whether it’s you go in the meal room at night and, you know, normally when we’re back home, you know, it can be a pretty uh scarce crowd in there of just coaches and some folks there for dinner, we got, you know, every t every chair taken and and just the energy and the and the vibes in the room. Um although we’re coming off not winning a game, you wouldn’t know it just by how these guys work, how they have kind of committed to bonding together. And uh I I do view this in this day and age. We stay, you know, we have an unbelievable training camp setup uh at our home facility. Our fans are right there. We have a a wonderful place to stay every night right across the street. Um so this is a little different. This does kind of feel like true camp in a lot of ways, but it happens to be in a critical point in the season as we head into our buy after this game. coach. Um, after last season, everything went sort of swimmingly record made it through sort of the season. This year, it kind of seems to be one challenge after another. JJ going down over to Ireland and then over here to London. How have the team kind of adjusted to what feels like constantly changing circumstances? Yeah, you know, I you know, I’m very fortunate to have some players that kind of look at things through the a similar lens as I do where, you know, adversity or challenges or obstacles are are really just opportunities for growth from a team standpoint where what can that mean to you when you’re able to overcome that um some of those things and find a way to win a game. We were close to doing an ingame. Uh last week we didn’t do enough to get it done and that would definitely be the case with our other loss this year. um as well where we were, you know, playing playing quite a few guys on the offensive line and and and trying to uh find a path to victory. We didn’t do it in either one of those games. We did uh in our other two and now we get the fifth opportunity. But um I’m a big believer if you’re you know if you’re if you’re looking for uh obstacles and excuses, you’re probably going to find them. So why would we take the time and energy to look um and let’s just focus on what we need to focus on in the present and and uh I think things will work out for this team because of the type of players and coaches we have and and my confidence level in the group is as high as it’s ever been. Carson prepared this week. Yeah, I think he’s gotten enough time now. It all goes back to, you know, that Thursday practice after JJ’s, you know, high ankle sprain, uh, where where he was able or really when he had had his baby and then the week of prep. So, he’s really going on now his fir or second complete full week of preparation going into a start and just all those logs or logged reps um are starting to be where you can have some things to circle back on that’s not just what you did in Philly or LA or Kansas City or Indie or any any of the other spots he’s been. It’s now, you know, I remember this rep from a couple Thursdays ago. I you know, I I didn’t see this right and here’s why. and then the dialogue of with us to him of how can we make this fit your eye and fit your comfort level the absolute uh best way we can and that’s how we’re going to do it and and we’ve got the type of players that can adjust and incorporate those things um at the skill positions and along the offensive line that helps Carson hopefully just continue to be um comfortable first and foremost. It’s not going to be comfortable for one snap playing against this defense on Sunday. We know that one of best in football. Um, but at the same time, if if the guys in the huddle do their jobs and and we just get simple execution done at a high level, I think we’re going to compete and have a chance against these guys. And that’s the way they’ve prepared and and that’s very much what I’m looking forward to see on Sunday. Yeah, I think I was mentioning this to uh Wes and a couple of our other guys today. just yesterday was a little bit more of a physical practice and you’re you’re watching, you know, Joe in there during the reps he was in and just feel so rooted and strong and and he’s got, you know, some pretty unique power to him. Um, and then enough movement skills and athleticism to kind of pair that together and still use the power uh even when he gets out of position at times, which is going to happen. Um, it’s going to happen throughout the pass game. It happens in the run game phase. they don’t just stay exactly uh where you think they’re going to be all the time. And he was able to, you know, show that in the preseason. Um Joe was one of those guys that probably um I don’t always tell you guys this, but he he probably made the team a heck of a lot earlier than the cut down day. Um at least in my mind, just with what you could not only see in the present with the player, but where we think he can go uh in the future. And he’s done nothing but enhance, you know, a lot of those opinions with his time leading up to now. and and he’s going to get an opportunity uh to uh to show us where he’s at on Sunday. How did JJ get through the week? Yeah, he got through pretty well. Um you know, obviously with the weather today, my hope was to try to get him some working individual. Uh but with the weather and the tight field space, we’re working on a 100 yard field. Uh we wanted to be smart with that, but uh very much looking forward to spending some time with him next week and then see where he’s at coming out of the B. Um, how do you keep your players motivated? Is there anything specific that you do? You know, I think, you know, they get they get used to hearing me hearing me speak a lot. I do a a meeting every Wednesday talking about what it’s going to take to win the game in detail about the opponent, but more and more it’s been um it’s been about us. It’s been about our ability to uh execute and just do our jobs from an all 11 standpoint. Um and then you know the we’ve learned through some of our success uh in the past especially uh you know winning 14 games or winning 13 games that uh you know the only one that matters is the next one and we learned that the hard way last year. Um, so this team and this group and and just our way of doing things kind of leads you right back into your routine of attacking the opportunity to play one game, 60 minutes, however long it takes, maybe 10 minutes more than that if you need it, um, to go try to win one game. And then, you know, we’ll go into this buy uh and hopefully get healthy, start the path to getting uh some of those guys back from from injuries and and see how quickly maybe we can get to a place where we’ve got the original kind of group we thought we’d have. But when we do that, we’re also now going to have a group with a heck of a lot of experience across our whole team, which is going to be a positive for the rest of the year. Last one, coach, just about going through this process now. You’re almost to the end of this week in the game. Two sleeps left. Two sleeps. That’s correct. Who’s count? Do you feel this is do you feel that this is a process that can be worked on for more teams in the future or do you think that this may be a tough ask? No, I I think as like anything uh the NFL has done from an international standpoint, I I think anything is possible. I think they’ve tried, you know, their absolute best and we’ve got a great group of people that work for us in house uh that have made the trip uh very much one that uh I think is absolutely doable. I think you you look at, you know, I think there’s going to be some factors, you know, in in the future if this is something that is going to become a a normal reality. You know, there could be some other conversations about roster size and practice squad and and and game day and all those things because, you know, you you play one game and you just you don’t get I’ve said this a few times, but we don’t get a script of how it’s going to go. Not only last Sunday, but then leading into this Sunday and there’s not exactly a a bunch of experienced NFL football players, you know, a hop, skip, and a jump away. So, uh, from a roster standpoint, there’s some challenges from a, you know, when when in the season is it going to be happening? When is it going to take place? What does it look like after for your team? What does it look like leading into uh those scenarios for your team? So, I think all those things will be accounted for. They always are. The league does a tremendous job. Um, but I’m I’m I’m proud that our team has attacked it the way they have and uh you know, we’ve gotten two opportunities to play out here. one of which didn’t go our way, but we got have a great opportunity to go play good football against a really good team um that also had to to travel here. Uh if they were at home, a team local here, maybe that would be a different conversation, but uh by the time the ball gets kicked off, it’s just football and no matter where you play it, I know our guys would play in the parking lot if they would let them. Uh so very much looking forward to

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the media from London, England ahead of the Week 5 game against the Cleveland Browns.

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