Sam Darnold Might Be Kevin O'Connell's Biggest Challenge As A Quarterback Whisperer

The Minnesota Vikings held a

On one end of the table, you had Jones, a former Pro Bowl running back who’s saved multiple fantasy teams. Decked out in gold sunglasses, he oozed charisma and brought a flare to the running back position they haven’t had since Dalvin Cook was carrying the ball 250 times a year.

On the other end was Darnold. His eyes were so wide he looked like he was being interrogated about Batman's whereabouts. Darnold willingly answered all questions. Still, there was a nervous energy even as he joked about forgetting his sunglasses (to which Jones kindly offered Darnold a chance to borrow his).

Six months later, Jones and Darnold will be key cogs in the Vikings offense, but fans have more confidence in Jones – a 30-year-old running back – than Darnold, who is 26 years old yet is on his fourth team in seven seasons. It’s not ideal, but it’s the type of situation that will put Kevin O’Connell’s reputation to the test.

Minnesota hired O’Connell as their head coach in 2022 to develop a long-term quarterback. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported that O’Connell told the Vikings he believed they could win with Cousins, but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah wanted to know about a long-term plan.

In the short term, O’Connell prioritized getting the most out of Cousins. The veteran quarterback had only notched one playoff win during his four seasons in Minnesota and was coming off a tumultuous relationship with his former head coach, Mike Zimmer. Coming from an offensive background where he learned under Bill Belichick as a player and Sean McVay as a coach, O’Connell set out to improve the relationship with his quarterback and make his life easier.

It was not a fast process. Cousins led the Vikings to a 13-win season during O’Connell’s first year in Minnesota. However, an NFL-record eight fourth-quarter comebacks inflated his gaudy stats (4,547 yards, 29 touchdowns, 14 interceptions). Cousins hit another gear in 2023, throwing for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns, and five interceptions in the first eight games, and O’Connell took the mantle as a quarterback whisperer despite the team’s 4-4 record.

There was a sense of confidence in O’Connell’s ability as the Vikings were ascending around Halloween. However, his status was tested when Cousins’ Achilles’ tendon snapped on the Lambeau Field turf.

O'Connell had highs and lows in the final nine games. When Jaren Hall suffered a concussion in the first game A.C. (After Cousins), he guided Josh Dobbs to victory like a competitive gamer in Madden.

When Dobbs stumbled, he turned to Nick Mullens. Mullens averaged 370 yards in three starts, but his eight interceptions made it seem like

Seifert reported that O’Connell originally wanted Cousins to stay and be the bridge quarterback. However, Minnesota’s transparency in their plans to draft a quarterback (and $180 million) convinced him to sign with the Atlanta Falcons. The Vikings were always going to take a quarterback in last year’s draft, but now they needed a bridge. They ultimately decided on Darnold.

Darnold’s name is as popular as tofu among football fans, but that wasn’t always the case. In the leadup to the 2018 NFL Draft, Darnold was a 20-year-old franchise quarterback prospect to USC, and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if the Cleveland Browns made him the No. 1-overall pick.

“At the end of the day, Darnold has NFL size, arm strength, accuracy, pocket mobility, poise and field-reading capability,” NFL.com’s Lance Zeirlein wrote in Darnold’s draft profile. “His windup is an eyesore for sure, but he has the velocity to mitigate the additional release time.”

Zeirlein said that Darnold had “the mental toughness to start tomorrow.” However, he also mentioned that he could use time on the sidelines to bring his mental game to the same level as his physical tools. “Darnold has the tools to thrive in any system and doesn’t have to have perfect protection to succeed,” Zeirlein continued. “His floor is a solid starter, but he has the ceiling to be one of the top-tier quarterbacks in the game as he gains more experience.”

If O’Connell chose his stopgap in the same fashion as The Dating Game, he probably would have run through the wall to make Darnold his new quarterback. But as football fans know, Zeirlein’s observations didn’t come to fruition.

Darnold spent the first three years of his career with the New York Jets, and they immediately played him. With Adam Gase at the controls and Robbie Chosen as his top target, Darnold was woefully overmatched. He became best known for seeing ghosts and contracting mononucleosis.

The Jets traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers in 2021, and he somehow walked into a worse situation under Matt Rhule. Still, the Panthers benched Darnold, but he showed signs of life later in the season. He threw for 190 yards per game, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions in Carolina’s final six games of the 2022 season.

The performance led him to sign with the San Francisco 49ers in free agency, and he spent last season as the backup to Brock Purdy. Playing under Kyle Shanahan, Darnold got the “redshirt” year he never received in New York. SI’s Albert Breer noticed a difference when he came on in mop-up duty in a Christmas night loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

“I remember watching that game…and seeing him in the context of having those players around him and those coaches around him and playing for Kyle Shanahan, I remember thinking to myself, ‘This guy is playing faster,’” Breer said during

Breer also brought his observation to O’Connell, who said he saw the same thing. He also compared Darnold to Geno Smith, another quarterback selected by the Jets who didn’t break out until he was in a better situation with Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks.

“I think you could look at somebody like Sam and say here’s a kid who is pretty smart, came out, and was more raw as a player than people wanted to admit,” Breer said. “Who probably went to the wrong system, probably played in a Peyton Manning system, which was not quite right for him. And I remember hearing people back then saying this guy would be good for a Shanahan system, and he gets in one, and all of a sudden, people think he looks really good.”

People have frequently mentioned Darnold's situation with the Vikings. Darnold will work with better players like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Jones than he had in New York or Carolina. There’s even less pressure after McCarthy tore his meniscus during the first preseason game.

But a lot of Darnold’s success will come down to the coaching. If O’Connell can slow the game down and turn Darnold into an adequate starter, his reputation will only grow as he works full-time with McCarthy.

If he can’t, Darnold may look like the same nervous player who was at that press conference, which could give fans second thoughts about O’Connell.