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(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is widely respected around the NFL for his offensive mind as well as his general character, which the league made example of via an announcement on Thursday, February 19.
The league office named O’Connell and Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans as the next two members of the NFL Competition Committee, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The committee, which former commissioner Pete Rozelle created in 1968, studies “all competitive aspects of the game, including (but not limited to) playing rules, roster regulations, technology, game-day operations and player protection,” according to NFL.com.
O’Connell is one of 11 members of the committee, which includes head coaches, general managers and team ownership from across the league. The full list of members is as follows:
As fellow committee members, O’Connell now reunites with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, under whom he served as offensive coordinator from 2020-21 and helped the team win the Super Bowl in the second of those two seasons.
Kevin O’Connell Now Partially Responsible for Potential NFL Rule Changes
GettyMinnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
The committee doesn’t make unilateral decisions, but gathers information from various members of all 32 teams as well as NCAA representatives and also meets on occasion throughout the football year.
It then convenes ahead of the combine to discuss and review all of its meetings and the information gathered.
After the combine, the committee reconvenes to review video, draft rule proposals and positions, discuss proposals submitted by clubs and prepare its report of supporting statistics for the membership to discuss and vote on at the league’s annual meeting.
At the annual meeting, the Competition Committee presents a report of its findings to the 32 owners, who vote on any proposed new rules or rules changes. To be adopted, a new rule or a revision must have the support of 75 percent of the owners (24 yes votes out of 32 clubs).
Kevin O’Connell, JJ McCarthy Will Fight for Futures With Vikings Next Season
GettyQuarterback JJ McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
O’Connell is entering a potentially make-or-break season regarding his tenure in Minnesota in 2026 after the fallout from some consequential decision-making ahead of the 2025 campaign.
The Vikings decided to let Sam Darnold depart for the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, then watched him win the Super Bowl earlier this month. Minnesota recently fired former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, at least in part for that reason, after the team dispatched Darnold to clear a path for former No. 10 overall pick JJ McCarthy to claim the starting job.
McCarthy had a few bright moments early in the year but battled extensive injury issues for his second straight NFL campaign, missing seven starts after sitting out his entire rookie year due to knee surgery.
When he was healthy, McCarthy looked, at his worst, unplayable. He was stronger down the stretch of the year, albeit against some of the league’s most incompetent defenses, as the Vikings finished the campaign on a five-game win streak to end the year with a record of 9-8.
That wasn’t enough, however, to claim a spot in the playoffs. In O’Connell’s four seasons as head coach, Minnesota has won the NFC North Division once (2022) and made the postseason twice (2022, 2024). O’Connell is 0-2 in playoff games and 43-25 in the regular season.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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