In the 18 hours before Vikings General Manager Nolan Teasley and coach Kevin O’Connell sat down for their first news conference together at the start of the team’s training camp on Tuesday, the team had already added a defender from Teasley’s past (Jamal Adams) and finalized a new deal for Brian O’Neill, their longtime right tackle who’s become a confidant for the head coach.
As they sat down at a table in the Vikings’ media center, the two leaders of the team’s football department cast the moves as examples of their early coherence.
Co-owner Mark Wilf glowed about the Vikings’ new leadership structure at Teasley’s June 3 introductory news conference, saying the GM would join O’Connell and executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski to give the team “three strong leaders with complementary skill sets.” Teasley praised Brzezinski on Tuesday as he talked about the team’s new four-year, $96 million deal for O’Neill; he followed O’Connell’s opening comments by talking about how the “connection between the coaching staff and personnel is already pretty apparent.
“We’ve seen it come to life with some of the recent acquisitions, the extension of Brian O’Neill,” Teasley said. “Working together with [O’Connell] every day, it’s become clear we’re aligned in our vision, both in terms of where we are currently, but also where we’re headed in the future.”
Teasley moved quickly to assemble his front office: new assistant GM Trent Kirchner, who’d interviewed for general manager jobs in the past, joined Azzaam Kapadia in following Teasley from Seattle to Minnesota. They’ll both be key evaluators for Teasley, while the Vikings hope assistant GM Andrew Healy’s data science background will help build a bridge between the team’s scouting and analytics department.
If the Vikings’ football operation lacked coherence between departments under Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the team prioritized it in its GM search this spring. O’Connell was fond of Teasley from his relationship with Seahawks GM John Schneider, and Teasley was atop the coach’s list of the Vikings’ external candidates as they interviewed finalists in late April. Though O’Connell had a friendly relationship with Adofo-Mensah, the former GM seemed to lack the connections through the Vikings’ football operation that would help him lead the entire department effectively.
Teasley won the job with a vision he said would be “guided by evaluation and anchored in data”; the first additions he made to his front office seemed to follow that strategy.
“It’s been a really cool summer, getting to build these relationships and see so many of the things that made us so excited about bringing Nolan here,” O’Connell said. “It’s not only Nolan, but the staff he’s built. It’s as good a staff as I’ve been around.”
As the Vikings begin their 2026 training camp touting their synergy, it’s clear their new setup needs to work.
Their 9-8 record had them tied for last in a division that’s had five playoff teams against one sub-.500 club in the past two years. O’Connell will choose between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, leaning on Teasley’s input as the Vikings try to reboot an offense that led the league in turnovers last year and finished 26th in points scored. And though 2026 is the first year of the Vikings’ new partnership between Teasley and O’Connell, it’s also the fifth year of a tenure that’s yet to yield playoff success for the head coach.
O’Connell’s win percentage through four seasons is the best in franchise history, and his regular-season success earned him a contract extension through 2029 after he won NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2024. He’s one of just nine NFL head coaches entering his fifth year with his current team. The fact he still has three years remaining on his deal after 2026 would suggest he’s got plenty of job security, and it stands to reason the Vikings want to give his partnership with Teasley some time to grow.
O’Connell is already the longest tenured head coach in the league without a playoff win, though, and if Murray starts for the Vikings on Sept. 13 against the Packers, he’ll be the fourth different opening day starter in as many seasons for a coach who’s still searching for the QB stability he was hired to cultivate. The quarterback changes and the lack of draft success under Adofo-Mensah notwithstanding, O’Connell can point to a significant amount of regular-season success. He’s been quick to acknowledge, though, that playoff success is what will define his tenure in Minnesota, and he heads into Year 5 still in need of a postseason win.
Then there’s Justin Jefferson, whose last playoff win remains LSU’s national championship victory before his 21st birthday. He’s heading into his seventh NFL season, possibly preparing for another quarterbacking change after 3½ years of relative stability with Kirk Cousins. Vikings officials privately expressed gratitude this offseason for how graciously Jefferson handled the team’s quarterback turmoil in 2025. The receiver’s close relationship with O’Connell seemed to provide a ballast, and whenever Jefferson spoke about his frustrations, his comments were rooted in an understanding of the big picture for the Vikings at quarterback. A player that has spoken about his desire to win championships, chase records and wind up in Canton, though, might not have limitless patience, and the Vikings seem to understand the need to do right by Jefferson.
It makes for an interesting backdrop to the start of a season that could be equal parts capricious and captivating. And as the Vikings start off with their new partnership between Teasley and O’Connell, it’s clear they need it to work.
“We have enough experience now since I’ve arrived here, I know the type of team that we need to build and the improvements we need to make,” O’Connell said. “And I think a lot of that alignment has been a daily thing that I’ve really enjoyed growing with Nolan and his staff.”