Time for K.O.C. to Go?
Is it time for the Washington Redskins to move on from current offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell?
According to our own Albert Breer, current New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is set to interview for the vacant head-coaching positions with the Giants and Cleveland this week, after the Carolina Panthers chose Matt Rhule. So, how does this affect the Redskins and O’Connell?
McDaniels and O’Connell are close, as the current Washington offensive coordinator was a third-round pick by New England back in 2008 in McDaniels’ first run there. Breer states that any McDaniels’ staff is set to feature O’Connell in a major role. Presumably, that would mean O’Connell would be his offensive coordinator and, most likely, play-caller.
The key here is O’Connell’s current contract status. The Redskins have him under contract for the 2020 season. However, he is not a lock to stay. New head coach Ron Rivera and O’Connell have reportedly already met to discuss his fit on the new staff. It’s expected Rivera wants O’Connell to be a part of his first staff in Washington. But, does O’Connell feel the same way?
After the season, rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins spoke of wanting O’Connell to stick around as his coordinator. The two meshed well, especially once O’Connell received more control of the offense later in the season. When that happened, the offense looked much better and Haskins showed major improvement. O’Connell was a major reason for that improvement as the two worked well together.
Once former coach Jay Gruden was fired and Bill Callahan was promoted to interim head coach, O’Connell became the primary play-caller. However, anyone who watched Washington’s offense for much of this season could tell it had Callahan’s fingerprints all over it.
That frustrated O’Connell and rightfully so. The two were stylistically not compatible.
If O’Connell does stick around for 2020, it’s just a matter of time before he leaves for another opportunity. Rivera has already began to fill out the offensive staff with some of his former offensive assistants from Carolina. The new head coach reportedly wants to keep O’Connell, however, Rivera isn’t the type of leader to keep him from leaving. If O’Connell doesn’t want to be here, Rivera should wish him well and move on to the next guy.
It’s time for the Redskins to be considering alternatives and Rivera is doing just that. He’s already interviewed his former quarterbacks coach in Carolina, Scott Turner—Norv’s son. After Rivera’s firing, Turner took over as the team’s offensive coordinator for the final month of the season. Turner showed promise during his brief stint as offensive coordinator.
While Turner and O’Connell are the only known interviews to this point, a new name was floated over the weekend. Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan reported that recently deposed New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is being considered as a possible candidate in the event O’Connell doesn’t return.
Now, before you scoff at Shurmur’s candidacy because he was a disaster as the head coach of the Giants, consider how well he has done as a coordinator in this league. He coaxed a career year out of Case Keenum two years ago in Minnesota. He did well with rookie Daniel Jones last season with the Giants. Shurmur has also had success with other quarterbacks such as Donovan McNabb and Sam Bradford, among others.
Washington fans want an offensive coordinator who can get the most out of Haskins and the young receivers. Fans want a more modern offense such as the ones ran by Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, some of which we saw with Gruden and O’Connell at times. Shurmur can be that guy, too.
O’Connell should be the guy everyone wants. He showed promise working with Haskins in 2019. However, the same offense went long stretches without touchdowns this past season, too. If O’Connell chooses to go elsewhere, Shurmur should be considered a legitimate candidate and the Redskins would be doing well with him as coordinator and Turner as quarterbacks coach.
Regardless, expect Rivera to move fast and have this wrapped up sooner than later.
Bryan Manning has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and college basketball for almost 10 years for various outlets such as Bleacher Report, SB Nation, FanSided, USA Today SMG, and others. Bryan has covered the Washington Redskins for different outlets and currently co-hosts a podcast on the Virginia Tech Hokies for SB Nation. For his day job, Bryan works in engineering for a major communications company.
