MN Vikings Leaders Earn Ranking as Best in NFL

Last season all anyone heard about was how good the Detroit Lions coaching staff was. Head coach Dan Campbell earned praise for his motivational and spirited locker room speeches. Ben Johnson was praised as an offensive guru. Aaron Glenn continued to draw rave reviews.

Minnesota Vikings fans have known for a while how special their own trio is, but it appears the national news is coming around as well. Maybe it was the development Sam Darnold experienced last year. Maybe it was the next step from Brian Flores’ group.

No matter what sparked the change in reasoning, the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff is now seen as the cream of the crop.

Minnesota Vikings coach staff ranked #1 in NFL

While a complete coaching staff is comprised of well more than just the head coach and his top coordinators, that is where the focal points are. NFL analyst for ESPN, Ben Solak, put together a ranking of the coaching staffs from all 32 teams. He has Minnesota at number one.

“When I ranked the Vikings in this exercise last season, I sang the praises of Flores, the defensive coordinator who had done the most with the least in 2023. But I wondered if O’Connell, another branch off the Shanahan-McVay tree, could innovate and evolve beyond the tried-and-true system he had run with Kirk Cousins to that point. What could he offer a younger quarterback in need of development?

The answer: a whole lot! Not necessarily to the quarterback we expected, as Sam Darnold started the entire season in J.J. McCarthy’s absence — but what a season it was. O’Connell’s mastery is in opening intermediate and downfield passing windows. Darnold had more passing attempts at least 10 yards downfield than any other quarterback, and NFL Next Gen Stats charted those targets with an average separation of 2.7 yards — fifth highest in the league.

O’Connell has easily leaped into that utmost echelon of offensive designers, and Flores remains the cream of the defensive crop. There are always little things to wonder about — scheming for a rookie is different from scheming for a veteran, even if that veteran had never been successful elsewhere — but there is no doubt that O’Connell & Co. elevate players more than any other coaching staff in football.”

Ben Solak – ESPN

It’s hard to look at what the Minnesota Vikings accomplished last season and not be amazed by those orchestrating it. O’Connell has long been considered an elite offensive mind. He displayed that in the form of Sam Darnold throwing for a career-best 4,319 yards with a 66.2% completion rate.

Each cycle it gets tougher to hear about losing Brian Flores on defense. He has elevated the MN Vikings immensely, and now rolls out the top front seven in the game. It looks as though he’ll have even more talent to work with this season.

Related: Vikings Front Seven Living Up to Hype Early

Although it’s fair to question the overall impact of Wes Phillips, he is clearly part of the process as well. To jump up nine spots from 10th overall, where Solak had Minnesota last year, it’s quite an impressive leap.

Next test coming for Vikings staff

Now with developmental and execution expectations heightened, the Minnesota Vikings will need to succeed again. J.J. McCarthy is under center for the first time as a professional, and the secondary has seen some turnover.

O’Connell has to prove he can replicate the quarterback success from Darnold onto McCarthy. Flores has to operate with the changing pieces now at his disposal.

Related: Former MN Vikings RB Hangs Up Cleats

Detroit was pilfered on the coaching front and now ranks (11th) behind Green Bay (10th) for second in the division. That’s a benefit to the Vikings, and while their rosters may be comparable, the coaching staff in Minnesota has to be a differentiator.