{"id":724873,"date":"2026-02-02T23:36:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T23:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/724873\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T23:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T23:36:23","slug":"kevin-oconnell-makes-major-hire-after-vikings-fire-adofo-mensah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/724873\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin O’Connell Makes Major Hire After Vikings Fire Adofo-Mensah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Kevin\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Head coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n

The Minnesota Vikings<\/a> called an unforeseen audible early into their offseason, moving for an organizational reset starting with the firing of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah<\/a> after four years at the helm of the front office.<\/p>\n

Head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell<\/a>, hired by Minnesota the same offseason as the franchise brought in Adofo-Mensah, remains at his post and is shaking things up atop the staff. He did so most recently by hiring former Miami Dolphins<\/a> offensive coordinator Frank Smith<\/a> as assistant head coach.<\/p>\n

The move to hire Smith, who worked under former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel<\/a> all four seasons he led the Miami sidelines, is a re-emphasis from O\u2019Connell on the Vikings\u2019 run game.<\/p>\n

McDaniel, now the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> and a candidate for multiple head coaching jobs after his dismissal from the Dolphins this cycle, remains at the forefront of the NFL<\/a> with regards to run scheme and implementation. Smith is an extension of that talent and brings similar expertise with him to Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing that Smith just has the assistant coach title over having a position group means his focus can be on big picture stuff, which is likely run-game design,\u201d Tyler Forness of A to Z Sports wrote\u00a0 Monday, February 2<\/a>. \u201cThere isn\u2019t a ton of creativity in their design, and it\u2019s a big reason why they haven\u2019t been able to get a lot of explosives out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aaron Jones Cut Candidate for Vikings, Which Could Weaken Run Game Further\"Aaron<\/p>\n

GettyRunning back Aaron Jones of the Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n

The Vikings\u2019 run game was 23rd overall last season, producing just 108.3 yards<\/a> per game. Forness noted that Minnesota rushed the football only 410 times as a team in 2025, which ranked 27th in the league.<\/p>\n

Things could get even bleaker from a personnel standpoint before they get better, as veteran and locker room leader\/favorite Aaron Jones<\/a> profiles as one of the Vikings\u2019 most likely salary cap casualties.<\/p>\n

Minnesota is staring down the barrel of a more than $40 million<\/a> cap deficit as of early February and releasing Jones this spring offers the team $7.75 million<\/a> in savings.<\/p>\n

Cutting Jones would leave the Vikings with Jordan Mason<\/a> as the lead rusher, who is only under contract through 2026 and struggles as a receiver out of the backfield. Thus, the move would create yet another need for a cash-strapped team with serious holes in the secondary and on the defensive line.<\/p>\n

Vikings\u2019 Uncertain Pass Game Makes Improvement to Rush Attack That Much More Important\"\"<\/p>\n

GettyQuarterback JJ McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n

Matt Miller of ESPN predicted<\/a> on Monday that the Vikings will address those defensive deficiencies by selecting safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren<\/a> out of Tolden in Round 1 with the No. 18 pick and defensive tackle Lee Hunter<\/a> out of Texas Tech in the second round at No. 49 overall.<\/p>\n

That probably means a swing on a mid-to-late-round running back or a short-term value play in free agency as a less expensive replacement for the cuttable Jones.<\/p>\n

Thus, Smith\u2019s run-game expertise in terms of design is going to be all the more important to Minnesota\u2019s offense, which also faces serious questions at the quarterback position heading into JJ McCarthy\u2019s<\/a> second season as the starter (presumably).<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connell also promoted Keith Carter<\/a> to serve as the team\u2019s new offensive line coach, a unit that must improve in both run blocking and pass protection over where it ended last season \u2014 ranked No. 18 out of 32 groups in the league, according to Pro Football Focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMax Dible<\/a> 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<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Vikings\n\t\t<\/p>\n

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