5 teams that could pair Kevin O’Connell and Sam Darnold together in 2025

One of the most pleasant surprises of the NFL season has been how dominant the Minnesota Vikings have been. Admittedly, I was not high on them, simply because I did not trust Sam Darnold to play up to his NFL Draft pick for once. I was not only wrong, but I am eating a heaping ton of crow now. What has been so fun to watch is how quickly he and head coach Kevin O'Connell got on the same page.

Unfortunately, all signs point to Darnold going somewhere else in NFL free agency. This is because the Vikings traded up a spot to take J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan. Not only was he the least pro-ready quarterback taken in the first round, but he missed his entire rookie season due to injury. There is a better version of him still in college by the name of Drew Allar. Again, I could be very wrong here.

But with news that several teams are reportedly interested in trading for O'Connell, maybe there is a chance we could see them partnered up again next season? O'Connell will be entering the final year of his Vikings contract and there apparently have not been extension talks. This may be his agent putting it out there to gain more leverage for his client, but the dollars and cents must make sense.

To say it would be beyond moronic for the Vikings to trade O'Connell away would be putting it lightly.

If he and Darnold are possibly on the move, here are the five places I could see them go "together".

5. Pittsburgh Steelers

While the Pittsburgh Steelers would be an intriguing landing spot for both Darnold and O'Connell, that requires one thing above all else: Would the Steelers have the stones to move on from Mike Tomlin? That would have to be either by trade or letting him walk. The Steelers are playoff-bound, but they are probably going to lose in the first round again like Marvin Lewis used to coach the Cincinnati Bengals.

Darnold would be able to sign there in free agency much easier than getting O'Connell to come over in a trade. Do you do a head coach swap with Tomlin going to the Vikings? He would reunite with Brian Flores, but keep in mind that he has never worked with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah before. To me, it is too big of a reach because of the stranglehold Tomlin has had over the Steelers for over a decade now.

In theory, this is a fantastic landing spot for both, but the Tomlin of it all truly complicates everything.

4. New Orleans Saints

From a cultural resetting standpoint, it might be impossible to top swapping out Dennis Allen and Derek Carr for Darnold and O'Connell. The New Orleans Saints are still wandering through the desert in the post-Drew Brees/Sean Payton era. General manager Mickey Loomis has built a roster with the structural integrity of a house of cards. Ownership does not seem to have any issues with this at all.

And that right there is the biggest thing holding the Saints back in potentially landing both key pillars of the Vikings. They do not have a ton of capital to work with. Their financials are a mess. This team is heading towards and inevitable rebuild. It needs a lot of work. However, the franchise was dead to rights before Brees and Payton took over and transformed the entire city. I am not ruling this out yet.

Besides, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak already has a Vikings connection with the pairing as well.

3. San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers would be another logical landing spot for both Vikings pieces. Darnold has already played for the team previously, just last year. O'Connell stems from the same coaching tree as Kyle Shanahan, having served under Sean McVay in Los Angeles, who worked with The Shanahans in Washington. I could get behind this pairing if San Francisco were to move on from Shanahan in 2025.

Shanahan is one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the league, having been in this role since 2017. While he has had great success in San Francisco, the fan base is starting to run out of patience with him. His inability to get it done in the Super Bowl is a massive red flag. Maybe Minnesota may want to trade O'Connell for Shanahan, straight up. That seems way too easy for that to ever happen.

Together, Darnold and O'Connell would have the 49ers back in the NFC playoffs as soon as next year.

2. New York Giants

If I had to put my finger on it, the New York Giants would have to be the most seamless landing spot for Darnold and O'Connell, should they both be on the move. New York is terrible but may have knocked itself out of the Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward sweepstakes by winning a key game or two late in the season. The Giants do not have a quarterback and they need to hire a better head coach.

By trading for O'Connell, they could set themselves up for future success. The only two other head-coaching candidates to consider besides trading for O'Connell are former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and maybe Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Darnold may have seen ghosts at MetLife, but that was playing for the other franchise. This might be the best option.

The biggest complexity is if O'Connell is worth the Giants' first-round pick this year or the one after.

1. Minnesota Vikings

This does not have to be this hard, so hear me out. Why do the Minnesota Vikings need to be so loyal to J.J. McCarthy? Because Kwesi Adofo-Mensah drafted him? Who cares?! There are plenty of other quarterback-desperate who would love to trade for McCarthy, even if he is on the mend. I think teams like the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks immediately come to mind. Extend O'Connell!

The idea of leaving well enough alone could serve the Vikings here. This is a franchise that often gets great quarterbacks but the signal-callers come and go rather quickly. Darnold is still on the good side of 30 and is just now entering his prime. It is why I would be so reticent to trade him. What I would do is franchise tag him, extend O'Connell, trade McCarthy and then see if you can re-sign Darnold later.

The only thing from making this very easy dream a reality is the belief that McCarthy is very special.