Inside The Vikings

The top 5 Minnesota Vikings moments from NFL Honors

Two big honors and a couple awkward moments were part of the night for the Vikings.

Will Ragatz

Feb 6, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell poses with the Coach of the Year award during Super Bowl LIX NFL Honors at Saenger Theatre.
Feb 6, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell poses with the Coach of the Year award during Super Bowl LIX NFL Honors at Saenger Theatre. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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It was a big night for Jared Allen and Kevin O'Connell at NFL Honors on Thursday, but they weren't the only Vikings involved in the show in one way or another. These were the five best Vikings moments:

Snoop Dogg hits Darnold with Jets joke

The night featured some humorous lines from Snoop Dogg, who was hosting the event. Sam Darnold was among those who was on the receiving end of a joke (in a sense).

"Sam Darnold is in the house, SC, what up Sam?" Snoop said. "You had an incredible year. It just shows that all you need to succeed is hard work, determination, and getting the hell away from them Jets."

Darnold didn't laugh, which made his awkward reaction funny in itself.

Darnold has said that he wishes he could've done more and played better during his Jets tenure. Also, he's the top free agent on the market this spring and the Jets' new regime probably needs a quarterback. Could a reunion be on the table?

Darnold finished third in Comeback Player of the Year voting. The award was won by Joe Burrow.

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Jefferson's teleprompter goes out while introducing Moss

Justin Jefferson always seems to be in control on the football field, but he understandably got a little flustered when the teleprompter malfunctioned while he was trying to read his lines and introduce Randy Moss, who was virtually presenting the comeback player award.

"We gon' start it over," he said to cheers from the audience.

It might've been a bit embarrassing for Jefferson in the moment, but he handled it well and kept rolling. He got through his bit the second time, then got to greet his college teammate Burrow on stage as the Bengals' quarterback came up to accept the award.

Bynum and Metellus dance on stage

One of the most fun subplots of the Vikings' season was the choreographed dances they did after securing takeaways on defense. Spearheaded by Camryn Bynum and Josh Metellus, the Vikings went viral numerous times with dances inspired by various movies or other pop culture moments.

So it was only right that Bynum and Metellus were in the building on Thursday. The two broke out the dance from "White Chicks" that they did in Week 14 against the Falcons.

As a side note, shoutout to Bynum for taking the risk and pulling off the flip in front of everyone. He's a free agent, so it's a good thing he didn't get hurt in the process.

Allen enters the Hall of Fame

In his fifth year of eligibility and fifth year as a finalist, Vikings legend Jared Allen finally got the news that he'll officially be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer. He's a member of the class of 2025, along with Eric Allen, Antonio Gates, and Sterling Sharpe.

Allen got the news from Steve Hutchinson, the most recent Vikings player to go into the Hall back in 2020.

O'Connell wins Coach of the Year

After leading a team with a preseason Vegas win total of 6.5 to a 14-3 season, Kevin O'Connell was voted as the AP Coach of the Year in the NFL. He narrowly beat out Dan Campbell, getting 25 first-place votes to Campbell's 19.

In a cool moment, the person who announced the award was Bill Belichick, who was O'Connell's coach when the Patriots drafted him in 2008. Here's his acceptance speech:

Brian Flores finished a distant second to Ben Johnson among the five finalists for Assistant Coach of the Year. Still, it was a pretty special night for the Vikings' organization, and for Allen and O'Connell in particular.

Kevin O'Connell signals Sam Darnold return, then walks back comments

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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