Vikings' Zimmer & Cousins didn't mix, but new head coach O'Connell shows promise for mending player relations
By Julian Basena
MINNEAPOLIS -- Now that it's no longer a secret that former head coach Mike Zimmer and Kirk Cousins did not see eye to eye, it's relatively encouraging to see incumbent head coach Kevin O'Connell has worked to maintain a cordial relationship with his top field general.
THANK GOODNESS: Minnesota #Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and QB Kirk Cousins are meeting regularly! 🙌 #SKOL pic.twitter.com/zYnNf3HcHr
— SKOR North (@SKORNorth) July 29, 2022
When O'Connell officially signed on, bringing his newfangled background working under the tutelage of offensive wizard Sean McVay, it was clear the new Vikings head coach was a vast departure from Zimmer. In introductory press conferences, he spoke of aspiring to lead a team built through collaborative player and coach connections more passionately than he did his profoundly new scheme.
From how he intends to run the offense to how he fosters communication with his roster, O'Connell has shown he's nothing like his predecessor.
They say the quarterback and head coach relationship is the most important in sports. And allowing Cousins to feel valued and granting his quarterback crucial one-on-one time to really understand the offense that he'll be the centerpiece of will likely pay dividends for both O'Connell and Cousins.
With Zimmer, Cousins joined an offense in 2018 that didn't really cater to his abilities with a coach who showed he had no intention of truly integrating him as a core piece. That and more contributed to a mediocre 33-31 record together that failed to garner any significant postseason success and eventually led to Zimmer's undoing.
"I mean, It's not like I'm not breaking news here that Mike Zimmer did not like Kirk Cousins," ex-Vikings linebacker Ben Leber told CBS Sports Radio. "And I think that showed in the way that Kirk behaved and the way that he carried himself. The team was never given to him, or he was never allowed to earn the trust of the team, because the head coach I think just didn't like him."
Most recently, their detachment was captured on live television in what was a sideline snafu after a clutch Vikings win. With O'Connell around, barring any catastrophe, strained player relationships look like a thing of the past.
"I think he's gonna finally thrive, really thrive, in a system and a coach that actually respects him," Leber said. "All this team has to do is play good team defense, finish in the mid-teens at the end of the season, and they're playoff bound and they can make some noise."