Per Kevin O’Connell, The Vikings’ Red Zone Specialist Got Stolen Away
Kevin O’Connell leaned on Brian Angelichio, a coach who was stolen away by the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the offseason. Apparently, that’s bad news for the red zone. Pittsburgh’s current OC was someone who helped considerably when the Vikings got close to scoring .
“He’s been vital for me in the red zone,” Coach O’Connell said at the Annual League Meeting , “over our four years together here. ” More broadly, O’Connell praised Angelichio’s capacity to sew the passing game and the running game together while suggesting that his preparation is excellent. He is, in other words, somebody to have in the team’s corner during crunch time, making his subtraction more painful than many realized.
Kevin O’Connell, Brian Angelichio, & The Red Zone Last year, the Vikings’ offense wasn’t very good. The final tally shows 344 points across the full season. That’s coming in at 26th in the NFL, better than only the Raiders (fired their HC), Browns (fired their HC), Titans (fired their HC), Jets (first season with a new coach), Saints (first season with a new coach), and Panthers (a team that went 8-9 in the NFL’s worst division).
None of those teams are very good. On a per-game basis, Kevin O’Connell’s team tossed up 20. 2 points.
Oct 5, 2025; Tottenham, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell during warmups before an NFL International Series game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images In other words, the Vikings weren’t bringing back memories of the ’07 Patriots (ironically, a team that would then draft a young Kevin O’Connell in the 2008 NFL Draft). In 2025, things weren’t particularly promising.