MVP: Kevin O'Connell's New Contract and The 2024 Season Wrap Up - Episode 304

Published Jan 23, 2025, 9:00 PM
Welcome to episode 304 of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast presented by Pepsi - Made for Vikings watching! Tatum Everett welcomes back Paul 'Meatsauce' Lambert to the show to break the latest Vikings news of the week. Tatum and Paul discuss the end of the 2024 season, Kevin O'Connell's new contract extension, the 2025 prospects for J.J. McCarthy, potential roster changes this offseason, the championship weekend matchups in the NFC and AFC, and the pending kickoff of the 2025 NFL season. All of this and more is in episode 304 of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast presented by Pepsi - Made for Vikings watching!

Spallon Montage is the Twin Cities premier salon and spa destination and proud official hair sponsor of the Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders, with three convenient locations any Dinah, Woodberry and Chan Hassen. There is a Spalan close to you. Visit online at Spallon dot com. You could win a Polaris razor and help vet's get a quality career. Visit all true dot com slash code. It was a fun and a wild ride. The Vikings end the twenty twenty four season with fourteen wins, exceeding outside expectations with more than double the amount of victories than many thought. Welcome into the Minnesota Vikings podcast. I'm your host, Tatum Everett. I am now joined by Paul meetzas Lambert from Kafans The Power Trip Morning Show. Paul, we had a few good shows, a good run of shows before this season ended, and then you had a beautiful baby boy. Congratulations, Yeah, thank you.

The only bad part about my son Louis is he has not seen a Vikings win. But on a good note, he has not seen a Packers win either, and that is his mom's team. So he's zero for four. In our favorite teams games. But there's always next season and he will bring us luck starting in Week one in about eight months.

Yes, yes he will.

And you grew up a lifelong Vikings fan, he will obviously have that in his future.

Would you say this team overachieved?

I mean, I think at one hundred percent overachieved. And you and I have talked about this a lot. We've talked about this a lot on the Power Trip. When the schedule came out. I made a bet with Chris Hockey, who is one of the co hosts on the show, and I said they'll win one game in the first five. They won all five, right, Yeah, they doubled their over under for the year, the Vikings over under to start with six and a half. They doubled that, right, got even one more win after that, so they went over seven and a half wins over that, right, which is amazing. Yes, they completely overachieved, but I don't I think they would say that in the building. And that isn't just you know, football cliche and sports talk. But they didn't think this was a rebuild. And that has been the whole thing since Quacy and Ko took over, was this isn't a rebuild. The competitive rebuild word was thrown around in two out of the three years they proved that they won thirteen and then they won fourteen. And that is why Ko has gotten that massive contract extension, which he one hundred percent deserves. Quacy will get one in the future as we record this on Thursday. But you know, it's one of those things where, yes, they overachieved, but I don't think the team thinks they did.

Yeah, I agree, I mean I think they there's a long history of them throughout the season saying we knew this was going to be something special from the jump from training camp OTAs and you just want to see how that plays out. And I'm sure it felt really awesome to see, like, Okay, so we put in all this work, we had all this faith in our guys, and then we get out to a five and zero run to start the season and had to be very confident inducing which then breeds more confidence and momentum, and then you see.

The amazing ride that they took us on this year.

You mentioned the Kevin O'Connell contract extension if you haven't seen, he signed a multi year contract extension that'll keep him in Minnesota for the foreseeable future. When you heard the news where you like, Okay, yeah, I knew this was coming.

Yeah, I mean it had to right, like, this was something that had to be done. He won thirteen games, he won fourteen games, you know, and what he did with Sam Darnold in that team and the way that they moved and everything worked out for them. Yeah, he had to get a contract. I've said it on the air. He's one of the best coaches Minnesota sports I've ever had. He will be here for a while. He one hundred percent deserves it.

Is it just an it factor for you for him?

Is it the play calling?

What is your favorite aspect about Kevin O'Connell.

I think it's the confidence. I think it's the confidence that he thinks and every game that they go into they have chance to win. And I know the Detroit game didn't work out the way we wanted it to, but the game plan that they put together was a ten out of ten and that was something that you can look at and go, all right, they knew what they were doing. They set people up perfectly. This is a great they're gonna this is a great team that's gonna have a great run. They've been set up to have a ton of cap space this offseason. This is all set up to be perfect, and you need him at the helm of it.

Yeah, he is also up for an award.

I mean, he did.

Receive the Coach of the Year NFC Coach of the Year award from the Committee of one oh one. I wasn't really familiar with the one on one Awards, but they are the nation's longest running awards program dedicated exclusively to the NFL, and the award winners.

Are actually selected.

By nationwide balloting of one hundred and one sports writers and broadcasters who covered.

The NFL throughout the season. Kevin got the NFC.

Coach of the Year and Andy Reid received the AFC Coach of the Year, And obviously, moving forward, the NFL honors will be held on You were a sixth in New Orleans ahead.

Of the Super Bowl and he's up for a Coach of the Year. Do you think he's a serious contender?

He one hundred percent should because like I said, and I go back to it, Yeah, and everybody who asked me is do you think he is deserving? Of course he is. This was a team and this is my opinion. This is a team that nobody thought would The people who are paid and put on this earth to make over under said they'd win six and a half games. They won fourteen with a quarterback. A lot of people thought was just going to be there until JJ McCarthy got up and running. That's not how it worked. JJ McCarthy got hurt, and here we are. They dominated and they won fourteen games. You can't just win fourteen games out of luck in the NFL. You can win fourteen games in the NBA just because you know, somebody takes a night off. That's not a thing in the NFL. And they did that. He one hundred percent deserves to be Coach of the Year. And the comeback is as people say, well, Dan Campbell got his team to you know where they went. Yeah, but that is a loaded roster. If you put koc on that staff and in Detroit they would win, they'd probably still be playing. And that isn't a shot at Dan Campbell. It's just the whole mentality of it's the it's the Bill Belichick bit. I'll take your players and win with your players, and I'll take my players and beat your players. It's that I don't know if that's right. That's more of like sounded like Yogi Bara may have said it, but that's what I mean. It's like, he's a great coach and it's awesome that we're going to have him for a while.

It's so interesting because I think there's always a debate around what constitutes Coach of the Year. Is it taking a roster that really had no expectations in turning it into a fantastic run, or is it someone like Andy Reid, who I mean, the Chiefs are just a machine at this point, and I think he's actually only received Coach.

Of the Year once.

I think you're correct.

Yeah, So it's it's just an interesting way. I'm sure it'll be. It'll be really fun to watch it play out. I do think people tend to lean, I think historic in the voting towards a coach who had the odds stacked against him and what he was able to coach through. So I think that kind of makes him a front runner if you have.

Yeah, he'll win it. I think he'll win it, and it'll be great when he wins it, because they deserve and he deserves all of the things that he's got and this, Uh, there's a very bright future for this organization.

I love that positivity means us because I do think, like, you know, after the way the season ended, there may be you know, some bad tastes in the mouth. And I think Kevin O'Connell admitted as such in his post his postseason press conferences. Whether it's the one after the Rams game, or it's the one you know, the following Wednesday, and it's it's I want I want people to keep in mind, like before that this season was awesome. Like you were seven and one at home, you gave you know, and the season before they'd only won two home games. I mean just the atmosphere of US Bank Stadium, the amount of like fun the players were having, the locker room was having, you know, you could see it in the postgame speeches from Kevin O'Connell. I just thought that this season was just one of the most fun seasons to watch, to be a part of, to be around. And I wish fans I would kind of remember that a little.

Bit more, you know. Uh yeah, I mean maybe maybe I'm wrong.

No, I don't think you're wrong. I think that when you when you go back and look at this season and you and you know this is a plug for a different podcast, But I listened to the Gleaman and the Geek podcast, which is John Bonus and Aaron Gleaman, and it's about the twins, and they talk all the time about how like people in sports need to start realizing that this isn't just about one season, right, Like this season was great, but this isn't the last season. I know this sounds dumb, but like, this isn't the last season They're going to play Vikings football. This was a huge step in the right direction. This has all been the plan. They want to get cheaper, not cheaper, but they want to get They want to get more money so they can spend money with a roster that doesn't cost a lot of money, if that makes sense. So they're going to spend big in a free agency. They have very few draft picks, but that'll change in some compensatory picks. And the other great thing about it is the last season people were so excited for the draft and how we had to get a quarterback, and this is the year we're going to get a quarterback. It's flip. Now we think we have our quarterback and JJ McCarthy, and now we get to attack free agency, which is like forty five days from today, not six months, not seven months, It's forty five days from today, and that is something to be excited about.

Yeah, I'm very excited to see what happens.

It's a different set of circumstances this season than I think we've seen with the amount of cap space, the uncertainty at several positions. There are several free agents that we're going to be keeping tabs on at vikings dot com with our free.

Agency tracker and things like that.

But I want to go back to the season itself and what was there a was there a moment or a person a quality trait of this team that surprised you the most this season, like your biggest surprise besides the wins memory.

I mean, my favorite moment was the was when they beat San Francisco and that ninety nine yard pass was awesome because that was like the moment where we were like, I think we got something in Sam Darnold because I mean I could have beat the Giants playing quarterback in the NFL and I have small hands.

Right, I don't know, I can't confer, no.

I do I have tiny hands, but you go when you play San Francisco, a team that I mean, they fell apart. They were six and eleven, but a team that a lot of people thought would win the super Bowl, and at that moment they were still the favorite to win the super Bowl, and you beat them. That was probably my favorite moment. I mean, the London moment was awesome with the interception by Gilmour, that was great. I just I think a lot of it was great. It was a super fun year.

I just remember that first game and seeing Andrew Van Ginkle make the pick sicks, and I was.

How much fun is this guy?

Like?

It was just like that for me was a big surprise.

I didn't really know what to expect from a lot of the free agents, and you trade it, you know, you get rid of names that you make tough decisions and you and there are guys around here that have been staples in what this team has built, especially defensively.

And to see just the trio that I love.

I loved watching how much Twitter engaged in like the photo of like Grenard, Cashman and Van Ginkle at the press conference set just looking like three young bucks ready to get out there.

And then you see.

You know, those were three anchors on two Pro bowlers on this team. I think that was kind of the biggest surprise for me this season was just how well the defense came together, how fast they they did despite all of the uncertainty and new names on the team. Looking forward a little bit, who are you most excited to see next season?

I mean the answer has to be jj McCarthy because I think he's gonna be very good. I think they have found something in him and it's gonna be sweet because he was the hand picked quarterback by this organization and they're gonna go forward with him. And the little blip we saw of him in the preseason against I think it was the Raiders that he was great, So I think it's I think we're gonna see him play very well and I can't wait for that first game in eight months from now, But more importantly, that first preseason in training camp, which I know it's January twenty third, is gonna be here so quickly. And I know that's weird to say, but the off season just flies because of how well, you know, we got the Super Bowl, then we got the Combine, then we got free agency, then we got the draft, then we got the schedule released, and they take about a month off and then they're right back at oh.

Yeah, don't got to tell me.

Yeah yeah, I love that question.

They're like, oh, what are you doing with your offseason?

And I'm like, you're kidding sometimes, right, Like I joke around because I'm like, oh, I travel so much and during the season, you know, with going to the away games, but I'm traveling like almost every month this offseason to do these events and to be a.

Part of that, which I don't take for granted. I feel very, very lucky to do that kind of stuff.

But the NFL does a wonderful job of making our job.

It's beautiful.

I like it because I don't want to be employed anywhere else. I want to stay in football. I mean, let me be real. I'm really excited about the JJ McCarthy thing and what you're talking about right now. I'm wondering what you think fans will be like as far as the patience, Like you clearly have confidence in him already, and I think we all do because of what we saw, you know, but getting out there and getting into a game is different. He has had a chance to learn with some of the best. I mean, he was pointing stuff out in meetings to Sam Darnold. He was a part of I mean, he's here all the time. He's you know, being a student of the game. You know, it's it's funny. I actually hosted an event for It was Delta Sky Miles members who bought an experience and to watch someone interview a player, and I interviewed JJ McCarthy and uh, it was so interesting to hear him talk about how he has become a better student of the game, which which is what you expect him to be, but that when I asked him how he thinks his football knowledge has grown, like if you had to quantify it, his eyes just like grew two sizes bigger. And he was like, oh, like double what.

I knew coming in here.

Yeah, And I think that's just so promising because it's almost like you're creating this foundation that you can then move forward and be successful putting it out there, like you've been given literally all the tools. And I'm not saying the you know, injury aside, I'm not saying it was a good thing any stretch of the imagination, because obviously we would have loved to have him out there and seeing things. But this could have been something where you know, these college kids they play. He played the longest season in college football because he won the national championship. Then a few weeks later, you've got Combine and you're training and training and training until draft, and then after draft, you immediately go to rookie mini camp, then OTAs, then mandatory mini camp, and then you go to training camp after that month off like the like, if you're him, you haven't stopped playing football, like literally that much football for a year, you know. So I think this was probably a good break for him mentally physically. Hopefully you know that that will reflect in how he's grown intellectually in the game.

I couldn't agree more. I think that it's going to pay benefits and I can't wait to see it start.

Yeah, I just I hope people are patient, you know, I do. I think we have to consider like he didn't get in the game, and that we've seen quarterbacks sit before and it works. I don't know the plan going forward. I don't even know if this front office truly knows the plan with free agency and all that kind of stuff going to be you know, revealing itself over the next few months.

But I just want people to be patient, that's all.

Yeah, it'll be great, it'll be worth it.

Yeah, you already told me your favorite moment.

What would be your biggest area of need.

You know, we're not gonna talk about quarterback right now, because obviously that's a that's a given as far as we know, just with the question mark at that position.

But anywhere else on this team that you'd like to see really get beefed up this offseason.

Well, I think it's the offensive line, and I don't. I don't. I think it's the guard position. It could be both, it could be one. I think that is an area of need. And obviously, with the three corners that they have that we're all on one year deals, that is also a mass area of need. Is the corners and then the interior offensive line.

Yeah, yeah, no, I agree with you. I think it.

It became a little bit more suspect towards the end of the season that you just needed a little bit of extra time. Sam needed a little bit of extra time.

One hundred percent, And that's something we can address in the off season going forward, which makes the off season excellent.

Oh, I know, I every time I get to this point of the year, Paul, I'm just like I get like that like tinge of anxiety, like not bad anxiety, like good anxiety of like oh my gosh, like what's gonna happen, Like, oh my god, who's going to be here's who's gonna walk in the building. And it's like a weird, like exciting thing for me because I don't have to make any of the big decisions.

I just get to see what happens.

Yeah, that's the best part. You just wait on Twitter and all that. That's what makes it so fun. Yeah.

Yeah, So what do you do in this off season? Like, are you still watching games right now?

Oh?

Yeah, I'll watch all the games. I'll watch. Uh even going back like twenty plus years. A friend of mine, we used to before kids and you know, life change. We would get together and watch the combine. We would sit around and just watch it. Yeah, I'll watch that.

You know.

I'll keep up to date on all the things that are happening. I'll be on Vikings dot com and looking at all the things you guys do. That's about it. I mean football never stops. That's beauty of it. It takes as you know, it takes a week off after the Super Bowl. Then the combine happens. Like I said, everybody, football takes a month off, and it's about June fifteenth to the week after the fourth and then it's right back at it.

It's funny.

I used to work in local TV, like local sports TV, and I had a boss who had worked at you know, CNN Sports at ESPN, you know, and he was older, like he was probably my father's age, but he had been around and he kind of settled into this role as a sports director in this tiny TV market and best learning experience of my life. But I remember, I'll never forget a lot of the things that he told me.

But one of the things that he said was.

When you're stacking your local sports show, we're in South Louisiana and like East Texas, so just keep that in mind regionally, that's that's the sport, you know. I mean, we didn't have hockey to take precedent or anything like that. But he said, anything NFL leads, anything football leads. He's like, I don't care if there's some like crazy, you know, basketball game that affected the local teams. He says, no people care the most soft football, and that will lead your show every single day all year round. I was like, dang, But I mean he has a great point, because I have a feeling there will be a lot of eyes on this weekend's games that you have, the divisional game, the NFC Championship between the Eagles and Commanders, the AFC Championship between the Chiefs and the Bills. Paul, I can't make predictions. I mean I probably could, actually, because this is not the Vikings, but I'm not gonna so I'll hand it off to you. Also, I'll tell you who I would want to see. I won't predict it, but who do you think will be winners of those games? And what we'll see in the super Bowl.

I think it'll be the Commanders and the Bills.

Oh my god, that's what I want.

I think the Commanders are such a good team and with a rookie quarterback who doesn't know any better and is so calm under pressure, I think they can go in too Philly, all the pressures on Philly. Yeah, and same thing with I don't like I'm tired of the Chiefs. I want the Bills to win. Josh Allen, I just love watching and play football, and as we talked about this morning and the power Trip, the Bills are like the Vikings of the AFC, and I just want to see the Bills win and make it to a super Bowl because Josh Allen deserves to win a super Bowl.

Yeah, I just you know, I do.

I feel like Vikings fans kind of relate to Bills fans to a certain extent, having gone to so many Super Bowls and never being able to win. And I think that I'm also with you, like I want to see something new.

I always do. I just think that's exciting.

Like when the Bengals made the Super Bowl a few years back, I was like, Wow, this is kind of cool.

And obviously, you know, no no hiding my fandom. I'm like literally an L.

Shue sweatshirt today, but I'm obviously rooting for the kid, Jaden Daniels who he's so good and I will say.

I'd be missed. I didn't say that when he played his first game in LSU.

I was like, this is terrible idea. I don't want him, blah blah blah. But I've obviously changed my mind.

He's so good.

He's so good.

He's one of those quarterbacks that makes an immediate impact wherever he goes.

He was like that at LSU.

But I do think that again, like I think that's another case of a of a quarterback who has waited for his turn. He you know, because because Jayden, you know, he was in the transfer portal, No no one gave him that shot. Same stories with like a Joe Burrow. I mean, sometimes you kind of need to just marinate a little bit longer, and if you're in college football that long. And and uh, as he was, he comes out, he's already had playoff experience in college and he already comes out and he has you know, he works in an offense, and I think the number one thing that the Commanders have been able to do is is adapt their offense to what he is capable of. And that is that is good coaching at the end of the day. I mean, Cliff Kingsbury can see what Jaden Daniels is good at and builds the offense around him, much like he did with Kyler for a long time.

Yeah, And that's that's what makes him so good, is how quick he is up and down the field, how well he reads a defense, and they play the way everybody plays now and the Commander's just it's four down football and it's more offense, it's more entertaining, and that's what makes it so much fun.

I know, man, these games are going to be awesome to watch.

I'm very, very excited also with you though, would love to see Manders Bills.

I think that would be my number one choice. But can't wait, can't wait, can't wait.

Well, we still are going to watch the Honors Super Bowl week to see if Kevin O'Connell wins Coach of the Year. Other than that, you know, Saus, I think we're going to sign off for a little bit. We'll take a little break. The Minnesota's podcast will be sporadic throughout the off season. Whenever we've got some big news, some previews, some conversations with network talent that is out there nationally, we'll come at you with some episodes. So be sure to like and subscribe to our channel so you can keep up to date with our podcast. I appreciate you, Paul for joining us today and for the last several weeks that we had you on. Enjoy your off season and have a really fun weekend with these games.

Yeah, thank you. You did the same. It's been super fun.

Yeah, thank you, thank you so much.

Well, just because we're signing off here on the podcast doesn't mean that our content is ending. We still have plenty of fun plans all off season long, so be sure to stick with Vikings dot com and the Vikings app as things will be coming up periodically. Most recently, we have a beat Writer's Roundtable that's coming out where we dissect the season as a whole, as well as talk about the Kevin O'Connell contract extension alongside ESPN's Kevin Seaffert, the Star Tributes Ben Gesling, and the athletics Alec Lewis, and so that will be dropping really soon, and we're gonna have some exciting highlights of all.

Of your favorite players.

So it's gonna be an exciting time despite anything else, So be sure to hang with us to get your football fix. Thanks for tuning in to MVP the Minnesota Vikings Podcast. I'm Tatum Everett. That was Paul Metzaz Lambert, and we will talk to you guys very soon. Say hello to Fallasy Smooth Skin at Pure Lux Medspa, the Preferred medspot. The Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders specializing in elite laser hair removal, body contouring, botox cosmetic filter, and age defying skincare treatments such as Diamond Glow and skin Pen For collagen induction therapy, visit mypure lux dot com backslash Vikings for exclusive offers to Vikings fans