The death of a rookie - how O'Connell helped Vikings overcome tragedy

The Minnesota Vikings had already held their off-season programme and caput manager Kevin O'Connell was backmost location successful California.

He and the remainder of the organisation were looking guardant to the caller NFL play when, connected 6 July, O'Connell got the telephone that caput coaches "fear much than anything".

He was told that successful the aboriginal hours of that greeting Khyree Jackson, the 24-year-old cornerback Minnesota selected with their 3rd prime of this year’s draft, had died successful a car mishap successful Maryland.

O'Connell was "absolutely crushed". Although Jackson had lone spent a abbreviated clip with the team, O'Connell saw capable to judge helium was acceptable for an "unbelievable, palmy career".

"It's inactive thing I deliberation astir about each day," helium told BBC Sport.

"You larn astir what benignant of shot quality and idiosyncratic quality players have, and I deliberation the astir peculiar happening astir Khyree Jackson was his travel was filled with peaks and valleys, immoderate bumps successful the road.

"He went to aggregate colleges and truly had to learn, arsenic a young person, precisely what helium was going to acceptable his caput to. 'Hey, I'm going to execute this goal, I'm going to flooded this adversity, and I'm going to travel retired amended connected the different side'.

"I person nary uncertainty Khyree would person been a large portion of our organisation for a agelong time."

Despite his loss, the Vikings person won their archetypal 4 games of the play and successful a wide-ranging interrogation earlier Sunday’s crippled successful London, O'Connell spoke about:

The Vikings reported backmost for grooming campy connected 22 July and counselling was disposable to everyone successful the organisation.

O’Connell was among 5 members of the Vikings unit that attended Jackson's ceremonial successful Maryland, portion the player's household attended a solemnisation of beingness successful Minnesota, arsenic good arsenic the team's archetypal pre-season game.

"It's not thing I had been done before, but I thought it was precise important to bash a mates of things," said O'Connell, 39.

"I wanted to authentically let our squad to consciousness the emotions they were feeling and to enactment done them. I did not privation to inquire them to enactment it retired of their mind.

"The different happening was starring successful the look of adversity. I needed to beryllium the stone for our organisation, to beryllium lasting retired front, but besides showing immoderate vulnerabilities, personally, truthful that guys knew that it was OK to beryllium grieving and that we would enactment done this together."

The squad has kept Jackson's locker astatine the grooming installation arsenic it is. They volition acceptable up his locker astatine Tottenham this weekend, conscionable arsenic they bash for each game, and players and coaches volition proceed to deterioration helmet stickers and lapel pins bearing his initials.

"My occupation now, knowing what a peculiar idiosyncratic and subordinate helium was, is to marque definite we support our representation of him and that helium remains an impactful subordinate of our organisation," O'Connell added.

"Most importantly, we'll proceed to marque definite his household cognize they're ever portion of our household and the peculiar happening we person going connected here."

In 7 years coaching crossed 4 teams, O'Connell formed an thought of what benignant of civilization helium wanted to physique arsenic a caput manager - 1 that's subordinate led.

Since the Vikings gave him that accidental successful February 2022, he's challenged his players to person input and ownership, to "create thing that's 1 of 1 successful being wholly connected with our players".

"I knew that if we could get that right, we would get the shot right," helium added.

O'Connell says that communication, subject and accountability are cardinal factors to a mindset wherever his players "care astir doing things for a crushed greater than yourself".

He besides spoke to them astir being "situational master" and executing erstwhile the crippled is connected the line, and they person go utilized to overcoming adversity connected and disconnected the field.

Eleven of their 13 wins successful 2022 were by 8 points oregon fewer. Last play quarterback Kirk Cousins and prima receiver Justin Jefferson got injured, yet they remained successful play-off contention till mid-December.

"I deliberation it's ingrained successful the squad that if there's clip connected the clock, we've inactive got a chance," said O'Connell.

"We've combined that euphoric acquisition of winning each those games successful 2022 with 2023, erstwhile we got a antithetic benignant of lesson. Dealing with that adversity, I deliberation determination was a batch of organisational maturation successful our mindset and knowing what we’re going to beryllium astir moving forward."

Now they are 1 of conscionable 2 NFL teams to stay unbeaten - on with past season's Super Bowl winners the Kansas City Chiefs - and O'Connell believes Jackson's nonaccomplishment has provided them with other inspiration.

"I deliberation so, due to the fact that it's allowed america to absorption and person a world cheque of thing is given," helium said. "We recognize however blessed and fortunate we are to bash this connected a regular ground due to the fact that it tin beryllium taken distant successful a moment.

"So let's marque definite we maximise each infinitesimal we person with 1 another, knowing however peculiar a spot this is, what the players person built here."

There was much adversity this summertime as, not lone did the Vikings suffer Jackson, but their archetypal draught prime suffered a season-ending genu wounded successful August.

JJ McCarthy was selected with a presumption to becoming the Vikings' caller franchise quarterback, but his wounded meant that Sam Darnold began a play arsenic the starting QB for the archetypal clip successful 3 years.

Darnold was the 3rd wide draught prime by the Jets successful 2018 but the Vikings became his 4th NFL squad this twelvemonth and Sunday's 31-29 triumph implicit the Green Bay Packers means the 27-year-old has won 4 consecutive games for the archetypal clip successful his career.

"Sam's had a truly unsocial backmost journey," said O'Connell. "Not to interaction connected immoderate 1 place, truly each we absorption connected present is being close wherever our feet are planted and however we tin assistance these players.

"I did consciousness like, with the situation we have, Sam could play truly good here. The maturity he's recovered on his travel enactment him successful the close spot astatine the close infinitesimal to person occurrence this year.

"What Sam's been capable to bash has not amazed me. In fact, I expected it. I deliberation helium expected it arsenic well. Now it's a regular process of consistency."

Cousins had arguably the champion play of his vocation nether O'Connell successful 2022. The Vikings past remained competitory contempt having 4 starting quarterbacks past season, and present Darnold has led a winning start.

Having had a little vocation arsenic an NFL quarterback, immoderate accidental O'Connell is simply a 'quarterback whisperer'. He said he's simply reflected connected "what I felt like, what I privation I would've known going into it".

"That's truly however everything is farmed here," helium added. "We physique everything backwards from what we judge is champion for a quarterback.

"I'm besides the play-caller arsenic good arsenic caput coach, truthful I person to physique that narration and person an knowing of however these guys tick. It's getting them comfortable, gathering up their confidence, and providing them with opportunities to interaction the game.

"I don't cognize if that makes maine a 'quarterback whisperer' oregon not, but my fig 1 extremity was to beryllium a manager wherever players accidental 'I was pushed and had each accidental to beryllium the champion mentation of myself'."

O’Connell tries to beryllium "authentic" with "humility and grace", and believes his players would accidental "they cognize they're getting the aforesaid feline each day, that's compassionate and cares astir them, but besides coaches them hard".

Despite lone playing successful 10 of their 17 games past season, Jefferson inactive reached 1,000 receiving yards for a 4th consecutive season.

The 25-year-old is 4th connected the all-time database for astir yards successful a player's archetypal 5 seasons and could go the archetypal receiver to beryllium named MVP since 2013.

"It's conscionable singular what he's capable to do, I bash deliberation he's 1 of one," said O'Connell. "There's lone truthful galore radical successful nonrecreational sports, similar Steph Curry successful basketball, that you person to support differently.

"Sometimes teams triple-team Justin but helium inactive has an impact. There's a maturity that comes with knowing you'll precise seldom get to conscionable play idiosyncratic one-on-one.

"He's got the quality to beryllium 1 of the top receivers ever. I deliberation what separates the truly bully players from the genuinely great, Justin has. That's competitiveness, enactment ethic, he's a large team-mate, helium loves playing football, and past he's got each the carnal gifts and the intangibles that I deliberation thrust those players to scope conscionable perfectly astounding heights. I deliberation he's inactive getting amended too."

Three days earlier being appointed by the Vikings, O'Connell won the Super Bowl arsenic the Los Angeles Rams' violative coordinator.

The Vikings fell astatine the archetypal play-off hurdle astatine the extremity of the 2022 season, and aft a turbulent play past term, O'Connell is wary of saying whether his squad tin crook their unbeaten commencement into a Super Bowl run.

"I've learnt to interest astir 1 crippled astatine a time," helium said. "It tin beryllium a cliche until you unrecorded a play similar the past one. It's much than thing that goes connected a bumper sticker oregon that coaches preach. It's a world that hits you.

"I deliberation the cardinal is having a short-term absorption built astir what we privation to beryllium arsenic a team, some from a shot doctrine and a civilization standpoint. I've been utilizing the word 'progress is the process', meaning our regular extremity is to get a small spot better."

The Vikings' past travel to London came aboriginal successful their winning tally of 2022, erstwhile they beat the New Orleans Saints 28-25 successful arguably the astir entertaining NFL crippled played successful London to date.

They instrumentality against a Jets broadside hoping to marque a long-awaited Super Bowl tally having built a young, dynamic roster astir seasoned backmost Aaron Rodgers.

After his archetypal play with the Jets was wiped retired done injury, the four-time MVP has led the Jets to a 2-2 grounds truthful far.

"There's cipher I respect much astatine that position," said O'Connell. "He's possibly the purest thrower of a shot we've had, and yet truthful astute due to the fact that of his quality to spot the full field. You amended beryllium prepared and bash your occupation due to the fact that if you don’t, helium tin marque you look silly successful a hurry.

"I cognize the excitement the Jets had. It's large to spot him steadfast again. Playing against Aaron is going to beryllium a immense challenge, but you've got to play good successful each 3 phases against the Jets oregon you won't person a chance."