An art installation at the Carlsbad Strawberry Fields overlooking Interstate 5 features eight-foot individual letters spelling the word “Kindness” and smaller, five-foot characters that read “Matters.” 

Created by local schools as part of the Great Kindness Challenge, the installation was unveiled in January to encourage kindness in Carlsbad, California. Long before the community spotlighted the quality in the exhibit, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who went to La Costa Canyon High School less than ten miles from the display, lived it out.

“I’m incredibly blessed to have the family that I do,” O’Connell said Thursday in his postgame press conference. “My mom and dad have always been demanding of me being the way I am because that’s who they are, and they’re an incredible example of that.” 

O’Connell returned to his Southern California roots on Thursday. For the Vikings, the trip was not as sweet as the sunset illuminating Sofi Stadium for the first hour of the contest. Minnesota fell to the Los Angeles Rams, 30-20. 

Lost among the superlatives of Justin Jefferson’s 115-yard performance, Ivan Pace Jr’s 13 tackles or Andrew Van Ginkel’s two tackles for loss was O’Connell’s steadying hand, infectious personality, and the kindness that defies the caricature of an NFL head coach. Postgame in the somber locker room, Minnesota’s players looked to their leader.

“As a football team, we’ve had a lot of success this year, and then, it’s been a tough four days for us that will not define us,” O’Connell explained. “It will not be the story of this season because we hold the pen. What are we going to do with it? Are we going to work? Am I going to be the same consistent guy just pushing this team even more, demanding the discipline to be our difference moving forward?”

Aztec for Life

O’Connell prepped locally at LCC before starring for San Diego State. He is arguably the greatest Aztec quarterback to grace The Mesa.

He ranks no. 4 in program history in career passing yards (7,689), no. 5 in career touchdown passes (46), no. 26 in career rushing yards (1,312), and no. 12 in career rushing touchdowns (19). When the New England Patriots drafted O’Connell in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft, he was the fifth SDSU quarterback selected in the first 100 picks. He is the only Aztec signal-caller taken that high in the past 32 years.

“I grew up in this area,” SDSU run game coordinator Mike Schmidt said last week, describing his former teammate. “I’m proud of San Diego high school football. I want to see everybody from San Diego high schools get an opportunity to play at the next level if they’re deserving. To see a guy like that come from this community, play at the home school, and reach his goals in life is something special. Passing that along to recruits in the area is obviously a great recruiting tool for us.”

Consistency of Character

Drew Westling’s first year at SDSU followed O’Connell’s last season as an Aztec. This week, he recalled hanging out with O’Connell at a campus party during an official visit to SDSU in 2007. 

Westling fondly remembered the star QB casually detailing that night how Georgia would game plan to stop Colt Brennan and Hawai’i in the upcoming Sugar Bowl. When the high school junior saw O’Connell’s prediction play out a month later, Westling knew O’Connell’s career path would take him into coaching. 

“He was always just a kind, nice, total surfer, So-Cal, San Diego vibe kind of guy, and that always really impressed me,” Westling explained. “He never seemed to ‘big-time’ anybody. … I was always impressed, in the brief time we would see each other, even that he knew who I was and took the time to say hello. It wasn’t just me, either. It was anybody. He was just a good guy.”     

The Vikings’ head coach’s kindness mainly impacted Westling from a distance, but he became a friend and mentor to another Aztec signal caller, Ryan Lindley. The former teammates’ paths have had remarkable similarities. 

O’Connell started his coaching career as a quarterback trainer. After Cleveland drafted his pupil Johnny Manziel, the Browns hired O’Connell as their quarterback coach before he became an offensive coordinator. 

Lindley also cut his teeth in the industry as a private quarterback trainer. After the Browns drafted Baker Mayfield, one of Lindley’s students, Cleveland hired him as its quarterback coach. Lindley was hired as SDSU’s offensive coordinator midway through the 2022 season. He is presently a senior offensive analyst with the Aztecs. 

“When I had a short stint in the NFL, we ended up playing (O’Connell) in one preseason,” Lindley told EVT. “We got together the evening before, and he gave me some advice on some things that I would experience. He’s always been a guy when something happens – even last year when things didn’t go like we wanted them to (at SDSU) – you can lean on and take some advice from. Outside of mid-season, he’s always been there to lend some advice and give some experiences from what he’s had.”

Remarkably, O’Connell’s players echoed Westling, Schmidt, and Lindley’s sentiments Thursday night. O’Connell’s ability to be the same, genuine person as the Vikings head coach as he was in college is special. Time and experience have undoubtedly changed him, but at his core, he is the person his parents raised him to be. 

Quarterback Sam Darnold is among the best stories in the NFL this season. He was outdueled on Thursday by Matthew Stafford, but his control of O’Connell’s offense was evident. In his first year with the franchise, the signal caller walked into an enviable environment in Minnesota. 

Poor character is often overlooked in the NFL in the name of winning. The Vikings mirror O’Connell’s “kindness matters” ethos. 

“I have great chemistry with KO, obviously, (and) with all the coaches,” Darnold explained. “All the players in that locker room are great dudes, first and foremost, really good players as well. We have a really good team. We have to continue to do the little things right. If we do that, we’ll be alright.”

It is not uncommon for a head coach to have a special connection with his quarterback. Proof of O’Connell’s brilliance as a culture creator is seen best in the experience of athletes outside of the spotlight. 

As media members circled the Vikings’ most popular players, defensive end Jonathan Bullard quietly dressed near his locker room. The nine-year veteran has started 28 games in Minnesota over the past three years. He is a key contributor on a defense that is one of only eight NFL teams holding its opponents under 20 points per game. 

Bullard’s stats, though, are not eye-popping. His value is appreciated more by football junkies and coaches than media personalities. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive end described O’Connell as a hard-working players’ coach, searching for any advantage he can give his team. Following O’Connell’s persona, Bullard said the Vikings are “close-knit.”

“Obviously, he’s the head coach, but you’ve got to be able to mesh with the players, have a respect level from both sides,” Bullard explained. “As much as we respect him, he shows respect for us too. He pushes us when we need to be. Obviously, that’s what he’s supposed to do. I think he’s a great coach. We enjoy him, and we’re feeding off of him.”

Character to overcome a rough five days

Legacy is like a wake left by a boat in the water. 

One side is a person’s professional accomplishments, and the other is the individual’s treatment of people as they journey through life. Despite reaching the pinnacle of his profession at a young age, O’Connell’s impact on others has been more significant than his public success. 

Potentially, the only way to even his wake would be to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy as an NFL head coach. O’Connell is convinced that potential resides in the Vikings this year. The offensive coordinator for the 2022 Super Bowl Champion Rams, he knows what greatness looks like firsthand.   

“I know I got the right team in there,” O’Connell said. “I know I got the right coaches. I’m incredibly fortunate to have the group that I do. …. It’s about work. It’s about this team coming together. And this coaching staff, the players, are the most tight-knit group I’ve ever been around.” 

“I love our team. I love everything about getting to be the head coach of this team every day. I’ve got to make sure I’m pushing us to reach our truest potential as a team this year because I truly believe that is a special team, and I believe that now more than ever.” 

Should the Vikings reach the heights O’Connell envisions, it will turn the “nice guys finish last” adage on its head. It would prove that the kids of Carlsbad are right; “kindness matters.”

Paul Garrison

My earliest sport’s memory involve tailgating at the Murph, running down the circular exit ramps, and seeing the Padres, Chargers and Aztecs play. As a second generation Aztec, I am passionate about all things SDSU. Other interests include raising my four children, being a great husband and teaching high school.