Kevin O'Connell, Vikings coach, addresses reports of teams interested in trading for him prior to the playoffs.
This season, O'Connell is among the top contenders for Coach of the Year, with a record of 14 wins and 3 losses.
Despite being fully focused on the upcoming wild-card round matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams, head coach Kevin O'Connell responded to a surprising report concerning him.
O'Connell, a "Coach of the Year" frontrunner, is reportedly attracting interest from multiple teams for a potential trade during the upcoming offseason, according to Jay Glazer on "Fox NFL Sunday."
Rarely, teams trade for coaches, and the offensive-minded O'Connell is attracting interest from teams seeking to fill a coaching void.
On Monday, when asked about the report, O'Connell stated his preference to remain in Minneapolis.
"O'Connell stated to reporters via the New York Post that he is not interested in addressing rumors or speculation, but he loves this team and organization, and he wants to continue coaching and leading in this place."
ESPN reports that the Wilf family, owners of the Vikings, have "no interest" in trading their head coach, despite O'Connell's preference for a different location.
The Rams, who inflicted one of the Vikings' three losses this season, are O'Connell's top priority for handling on Monday.
O'Connell aims to secure his first playoff victory with the Vikings, despite his team's impressive 13-4 record in 2022, which resulted in a loss to the New York Giants in the wild-card round.
In 2023, after a 7-10 season that saw Kirk Cousins tear his Achilles, O'Connell's squad rebounded under Sam Darnold's leadership on offense.
Los Angeles' offensive coordinator before being hired by Minnesota, O'Connell, is a familiar matchup against Rams head coach Sean McVay.
The Rams face the Vikings this weekend as slight underdogs, but the game promises to be a thrilling battle between two teams and two coaches who are very familiar with each other.
Until the Vikings' Super Bowl run ends, O'Connell's sole focus will remain on the team he wants to stay with.
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