Was Vikings' Kevin O'Connell ranked in PFF's top 10 returning coaches?
PFF wanted to rank the top 10 returning incumbent NFL coaches in 2025. Dalton Wasserman explained his approach to the process, explaining, "Players ultimately decide who wins and loses football games, but coaching plays a massive part in optimizing their performance. There certainly isn't a shortage of excellent head coaches, both old and young, in the NFL, and we're ranking the best among them. This will be a ranking of head coaches returning to their incumbent positions in 2025. Newly hired coaches — Aaron Glenn, Mike Vrabel, Liam Coen, Pete Carroll, Brian Schottenheimer, Ben Johnson and Kellen Moore — will not be included."
For the Minnesota Vikings, their coach, Kevin O'Connell, is coming off a 2024 campaign that saw him take a backup quarterback in Sam Darnold and go 14-3. In the process, he would earn Coach of the Year honors and is now poised to start sculpting the next piece of quarterback clay in 2025, J.J. McCarthy.
So, where would he be ranked? That's the thing, he did not crack the top ten.
You will have to see the rankings for yourself, but we will mention that the Lions' Dan Campbell came in ninth. No other NFC North coaches were ranked, of course, not the first-year head coach Ben Johnson. That being said, though, not having O'Connell coming off a coach of the year performance is a bit puzzling.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Richardson starts fast, Packers finish strong to rally past Colts 23-19 in preseason
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Richardson completed six of his first eight passes Saturday, leading the Indianapolis Colts to a touchdown on his first series before the Green Bay Packers rallied late for a 23-19 victory in the preseason. Quarterback Sean Clifford scored on an 11-yard run with 1:31 left to put the Packers ahead. Jason Bean then took the Colts to the Green Bay 31-yard line in the final minute before the rally fell short. While Clifford finished strong, Richardson started fast. He played nearly the entire second quarter and capped Indy's best drive of the preseason with Tyler Goodson's 3-yard TD run. Richardson also took advantage of a fumble recovery to set up the second of Spencer Shrader's four field goals. The Packers' only first-half score came on a 43-yard field goal to end the second quarter. They cut the deficit to 13-10 on Israel Abanikanda's 3-yard TD run in the third quarter, tied the score at 16 on Amar Johnson's 9-yard scoring run. Green Bay missed the extra point. Clifford's scoring run gave Green Bay its only lead of the game. Packers coach Matt LaFleur held out 29 players, including quarterback Jordan Love two days after the teams held a joint practice. Love had surgery to repair a ligament in his left thumb earlier this week. Malik Willis went 6 of 14 with 83 yards in place of Love. Clifford ran twice for 19 yards. But with Indy still trying to determine whether Richardson or Daniel Jones will be the opening day starter, coach Shane Steichen opted to use most of his starters into the second quarter. While Jones made quick decisions and was mostly on target, Richardson sprinkled some impressive throws and runs with some bad misses and questionable decisions. Richardson finished 6 of 11 with 73 yards, no interceptions or fumbles and managed to avoid any additional injuries. Jones went 7 of 11 with 101 yards. The Colts also lost their top two right tackles to injuries. Braden Smith, the starter, left with a groin injury in the first half. Smith's backup, Blake Freeland, was carted off the field with a fractured lower right leg in the second quarter. Abanikanda led a 159-yard rushing attack for Green Bay with 12 carries for 43 yards. Flagged While the Packers largely cleaned up the drops from last week's preseason opener, the penalty flags continued to fly. The Packers finished with 12 penalties, and nobody had it rougher than backup right tackle Anthony Belton. The rookie was flagged five times in the first half — two illegal formations, one false start, an unnecessary roughness and a face mask. ... The Colts finished with 11 penalties for 103 yards. Injuries Indy also lost rookie safety-linebacker Hunter Wohler with a foot injury, cornerback Johnathan Edwards with a concussion and linebacker Jacob Phillips with a bicep injury. Up next The Packers have another joint practice this week with Seattle before closing out the preseason against the Seahawks next Saturday. Indy visits Cincinnati next Saturday. ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NFL will not fine CeeDee Lamb after collision with referee during Cowboys preseason game
The NFL will not be fining CeeDee Lamb after the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver collided with an official last week, per multiple reports. Lamb, who was on the sideline in his street clothes for the Cowboys' preseason loss to the Los Angeles Rams, was bowled over by a referee while celebrating a play from his teammate. The collision occurred as Lamb stepped forward from the sideline, right into the path of a referee that was barreling down the field to follow the play. Lamb was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the contact. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Under NFL rules, players are fined for any physical contact with officials in addition to the 15-yard penalty, with a $40,686 fine for a first offense, and a $81,374 fine for a second offense. It's not entirely clear why Lamb was not fined for Saturday's contact, but it's possible that the league decided to be lenient given that Lamb was decked in the process. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer addressed the incident in a news conference after the game, which ended in a 31-21 Rams win. "I hope the guy's okay, I think he's okay, the official that (he) ran into, but we have to be better than that. CeeDee knows better. We know better," Schottenheimer said. Lamb sat out of last week's game as Dallas rested most of its starting lineup. The Cowboys will play their second preseason game, and first home game of the year, on Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dolphins RB De'Von Achane has lower body injury but team believes he'll be available Week 1
The Miami Dolphins didn't use their starters in Saturday's preseason game. De'Von Achane wouldn't have played anyway due to injury. His status for Week 1 is the more important question. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Achane has a lower body soft tissue injury that will keep him out 'between days and weeks," according to Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN's NFL Nation. McDaniel also said the team isn't concerned about Achane's availability for Week 1, via Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network. It's hard to reconcile McDaniel throwing in "weeks" into the answer and then having no concern about Achane being available for the opener, which is three weeks from Sunday. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler, who recently signed a three-year, $67.75 million deal, has a similar timeline in recovery from an injury, Wolfe and Louis-Jacques reported. The Dolphins' offense is fairly thin and that's with a healthy Achane. If Achane does miss any time during the season, Jaylen Wright and rookie Ollie Gordon II would fill in. Wright has only 19 yards on 13 carries through two preseason games. Achane had 907 yards rushing and added 592 receiving yards on 78 catches last season. McDaniel seems unconcerned about his Week 1 availability. For the sake of the Dolphins' offense, that assessment needs to be correct.
