Drew Rosenhaus: Kevin O'Connell is 'special' and will be 'one of the greats'

The high-profile agent had a lot of praise for the Vikings coach in an appearance on ESPN on Thursday.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell walks onto the field before the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Dec. 29, 2024. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Drew Rosenhaus recalls meeting with Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell at the NFL Combine and being blow away.

Rosenhaus, a high-profile NFL agent who represents a long list of clients, including Christian Darrisaw, Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Aaron Jones, among others, on the Vikings, had high praise for O'Connell and other members of the Vikings coaching staff during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN on Thursday.

"The guy is more than a coach," Rosenhaus told McAfee of O'Connell. "In the way that (six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill) Belichick understands personnel on top of coaching and how everything comes together with signing players and getting new guys and the salary cap — O'Connell's special. He's gonna be one of the greats, guys, he's really impressive."

Kevin O'Connell is a DAWG

"The guy is more than a football coach..

He's gonna be one of the greats and he's really impressive" ~ @DrewJRosenhaus #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/udmROo0EZd

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 9, 2025

That's high praise for O'Connell, and an interesting comparison to Belichick, who also served as general manager during his coaching tenure with the New England Patriots and was known to have an eye for talent and a keen ability to construct a roster. While O'Connell does not serve as general manager for the Vikings, he and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have displayed a collective vision for the team that's included shedding expensive contracts for aging players while staying competitive.

That vision has worked so far as O'Connell has put together an impressive start to his head coaching career. Since being hired by the Vikings in February 2022, O'Connell has a 34-17 record in the regular season, including two 13-win seasons, and has led Minnesota to the playoffs for the second time in three years. The sky appears to be the limit for O'Connell.

And if Rosenhaus is right, it's just the beginning of O'Connell building himself into one of the greats.