The Latest on Kevin O'Connell's Coaching Staff: Nine Assistants Signed, a Few Key Hires Remain

Having a great coaching staff around him will be critical to the success of new Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell in 2022 and beyond. With the Vikings officially announcing the hires of nine assistant coaches on Thursday, that staff is getting close to being complete.

As O'Connell was preparing for the Super Bowl last week, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings were using his input to begin building his staff. Reported hires trickled in over the course of the week and continued this week. A big chunk of the staff has now been officially signed, and with just a few key hires remaining, the entire puzzle will presumably be completed by next week.

The common thread that O'Connell emphasized during his introductory press conference on Thursday evening is communication. He wants the Vikings' players to feel "as connected as they've ever been to a coaching staff before."

"They've got to know we care about them from day one," O'Connell said. "I will not hire a coach that will not connect on a one-on-one basis with their players in their rooms. It’s very, very important. Our players will feel that from the first meeting all the way through our first time getting on the grass into training camp and on into the season."

Here are the coaches the Vikings have officially signed so far:

Assistant head coach: Mike Pettine
Defensive coordinator: Ed Donatell
Tight ends/passing game coordinator: Brian Angelichio
Running backs/run game coordinator: Curtis Modkins
Offensive line: Chris Kuper
Assistant offensive line: Justin Rascati
Quarterbacks: Chris O'Hara
Assistant QBs: Jerrod Johnson
Defensive line: Chris Rumph

Wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell is the only position coach being retained from Mike Zimmer's 2021 staff.

The only news here that hadn't previously been reported is Pettine's title of assistant head coach and O'Hara coming from the Rams to be the Vikings' quarterbacks coach.

The Pettine hire is a big one. He was the Browns' head coach when O'Connell got his first NFL coaching gig as Cleveland's quarterbacks coach in 2015. Now Pettine will give O'Connell a former head coach's perspective as the 36-year-old takes on the job for the first time. Pettine will be involved in helping O'Connell with in-game management, among many other responsibilities.

The other big one is Donatell, the 65-year-old defensive coordinator. He brings over 30 years of NFL coaching experience to the table, which makes him a strong partner for O'Connell. Donatell has spent the last 11 seasons as Vic Fangio's top lieutenant and has previous DC experience with the Packers, Falcons, and Broncos.

"The greatest defenses in this league not only stop people but they take the ball away, and that'll be a huge part of what Ed and our defensive staff tries to build from day one here," O'Connell said. "I think from a coverage standpoint, what really drew me to Ed Donatell was his ability to teach a system that I know is very hard to play against as a quarterback and as an offensive coach. I've experienced it in Los Angeles. There's definitely different forms of it going around the league right now, but obviously Ed's experience with Vic Fangio and his connection to that system is something that really drew me to him, and then obviously the person that he is was huge for me."

There's an interesting Broncos flavor in this first wave of hires, with Donatell, Modkins, and O-line coaches Kuper and Rascati coming from Fangio's former staff in Denver.

A few notable spots still need to be filled.

One is at offensive coordinator, where it appears to be down to two Rams assistants. Thomas Brown, LA's running backs coach and assistant head coach, will interview for the job on Friday and might be the favorite. Wes Phillips, the Rams' tight ends coach and passing game coordinator, has also been reported as a candidate. It seems like one of the two will become the Vikings' OC and the other will remain in LA.

Whoever is hired as OC will work closely with O'Connell, Angelichio, and Modkins, as well as the rest of the coaching staff. O'Connell confirmed on Thursday that he will call the Vikings plays. The OC will be to O'Connell what O'Connell was to Sean McVay: a right-hand man who helps with the scheme, game-planning, and installs during the offseason and each week leading up to games, and helps with play-calling during games.

Another key vacancy is at defensive backs coach. The Vikings were first set to hire Deshea Townsend, but he pivoted to joining the Jaguars because he believed he would have a bigger role on the defense in Jacksonville. Then the Vikings were set to interview Rams assistant DBs coach Jonathan Cooley to be their DBs coach and defensive passing game coordinator, but McVay reportedly blocked that move. So the Vikings will keep searching.

The other two notable ones are special teams coordinator and linebackers coach, which we haven't anything about yet. There will be plenty of other lower-level assistants hired as well, and it'll be interesting to see what the Vikings do in terms of their training/medical staff and their strength and conditioning staff.

Here's what the staff looks like as of now.

Head coach: Kevin O'Connell
Assistant head coach: Mike Pettine
Offensive coordinator: Wes Phillips or Thomas Brown
Quarterbacks: Chris O'Hara

Assistant quarterbacks: Jerrod Johnson

Running backs/run game coordinator: Curtis Modkins

Assistant running backs?

Wide receivers: Keenan McCardell

Assistant wide receivers?

Tight ends/passing game coordinator: Brian Angelichio
Offensive line: Chris Kuper

Assistant offensive line: Justin Rascati

Defensive coordinator: Ed Donatell
Defensive line: Chris Rumph

Assistant defensive line?

Linebackers:

Assistant linebackers?

Defensive backs:

Assistant defensive backs?

Special teams coordinator:

Assistant special teams?

Offensive and defensive quality control coaches?
Medical, training, and strength staff TBD

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