Matthew Coller: How Bobby McCain became a valuable resource for Kevin O'Connell

The Vikings' head coach looks to the defense for information and feedback on his offense.

Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell looks on before the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

EAGAN — Minnesota Vikings safety Bobby McCain has played more than 6,000 snaps throughout the course of his 10-year NFL career so there aren’t too many things that an offense can throw at him that he hasn’t seen before. That’s exactly why head coach Kevin O’Connell is leaning on McCain to give him feedback about his offense during the week in practice.

“I think the most impactful feedback that I get is from our defensive players… Bobby McCain has been like that all season long,” O’Connell said. “There's plays where I make sure they're scripted versus a certain look. I tell him before knowing he's going to be in the perfect spot, exactly where the defender is going to be in the game. ‘Hey, was that? Did that do this to you? Did it stress you like that?’ He'll be like, ‘No, I think if you did this…’ and then we implement it.”

McCain was a fifth-round draft pick in 2015 and played for Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores in 2019 and 2020 in Miami. He signed in Minnesota in late July after the Vikings suffered injuries in the secondary. When he was added, Flores mentioned his high football IQ and said that he has, “a conceptual understanding of things that any defense does.”

McCain told Purple Insider that his experience allows him to identify when route combinations and passing concepts cause problems for the secondary.

“When you have seen it a lot, if there’s something that sticks out then I would tell [O’Connell],” McCain said. “I’d say, ‘Hey, maybe this guy, he won’t catch my eyes or my body placement takes it away.’ He asks me questions like, ‘What do you think about this? Were you there because this guy didn’t do that?’”

McCain was initially cut out of camp but the Vikings made sure to keep him around on the practice squad. He was elevated for the first game of the season against New York but his main contribution to the team during the regular season has been practicing against O’Connell’s starting offense as part of the scout team.

“I’m out there going against the offense every day so he wants to know what I see,” McCain said. “If I see any tendencies, anything that goes on and I give my feedback to him. Every day we talk. I’m here to help any way I can.”

Is it normal for a head coach to lean on a defensive back to act as an extra pair of eyes from a different viewpoint?

“Not too common,” McCain said. “A lot of the guys try to figure out on their own. But KO wants to win. He will do whatever it takes...In a lot of places [the offense and defense are separate] but not here.”

So what does O’Connell get out of the discussions with his 31-year-old defensive back?

“I can watch all the tape I want, but the real-time feel of guys that have done it in this league, having access to a player like that with that kind of football intelligence, has already helped a couple plays [against the Texans], a couple plays in the opener, a couple plays versus the Niners,” O’Connell said. “I love the feedback in real-time from our guys. I always love the post-game feedback, just talking to some of the great players we play against. I think it's all valuable.”

McCain said that the discussions make him a better player as well because he’s getting a different viewpoint of his technical elements. He may be behind several other players on the depth chart but if there are any injuries at nickel corner or safety then McCain would be the next man up.

While the ex-Dolphin has become an O’Connell advisor, the third-year head coach has developed a feedback loop within the team where he’s created a dialogue between the offense and defense. O’Connell mentioned talking to star safety Harrison Smith during training camp to get his reaction to the offensive ideas and checking with backup corners Akayleb Evans and veteran Fabian Moreau for their thoughts as well.

“We're getting to see [the offense] versus real technique and fundamentals the way we may see when we kick it off each and every Sunday,” O’Connell said. “I think the longer you do it, you're trying to make things the best version of whatever the idea was, the play was, whether it's a core principle player, it's something that you're kind of designing for the week. You can get a lot of great feedback and it's been super, super positive and helpful for me and our coaches for sure.”

In the same vein, Flores has also mentioned O’Connell’s engagement with the defense. He noted that KOC came up with a blitz that he drew up in the coaches locker room and they used against the New York Giants.

“He texts me and he's like, ‘Hey, what do you think about doing this out of that, this front? We ran it, so it's good,” Flores said. “It's a K .O. special.”

Defensive players say that by communicating with them, O’Connell gives them different perspectives on their game than they would get from anyone else.

“The things that he thinks about, it’s actually crazy because it makes you think about other aspects of the game,” pass rusher Jonathan Greenard said. “You think you know everything and then there’s another aspect that he adds on.”

The coaching staff also encourages players to give feedback to each other in the same way that KOC is getting information from defenders like McCain.

“The offensive line might have questions about why the D-line is running this kind of stunt or why did I, as a linebacker, switch this blitz with Harrison Smith,” linebacker Blake Cashman told Purple Insider. “It’s things like that that can potentially help them with what other teams are doing because it’s a copycat league. If teams like the way we’re doing something then they’ll take that pressure or that coverage and vice versa. It’s everybody wanting to raise their level of IQ and we have a lot of players who can pick each other’s minds.”

McCain called it a “winning formula” for the offense and defense to play off each other’s knowledge rather than working on opposite sides of the building.

“I think it's all valuable,” O’Connell said.