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O’Connell’s Viking Culture Fosters ‘Clear Minded Football’

Posted on November 12, 2023November 16, 2023 by David Shama

Kevin O’Connell and his staff have created a thriving atmosphere for the Vikings. Call it environment, culture, relationships, or what have you, the players are comfortable with their coaches, teammates and themselves.

Prior to O’Connell becoming head coach in February of 2022 there was criticism of the team culture. Linebacker Eric Kendricks talked about a “fear-based” organization under head coach Mike Zimmer. Zimmer and quarterback Kirk Cousins had a contentious relationship per numerous media reports.

But under new leadership the Vikings overachieved last season going 13-4 and winning the NFC North Division. After a 0-3 start this season, they showed resolve by bringing their record to 5-4 after last week’s improbable win over the Falcons when quarterback Joshua Dobbs played hero ball after joining the team mid-week to replace the injured Cousins.

O’Connell could have contributed to a potential panicky environment with the loss of Cousins for the season and a new quarterback who had the most minimal knowledge and familiarity with the plays and personnel. Instead, Dobbs played with poise and success like he was on the school playground with old friends, rallying Minnesota to a 31-28 win despite his situation and having replaced injured starter Jaren Hall in the first quarter.

“…I know K.O. believes that you play your best when you’re enjoying yourself and having a good time and playing free,” offensive tackle Brian O’Neill told Sports Headliners. “The last thing anybody wants is to be afraid to make a mistake, and they’ve cultivated a culture in that we can feel confident that they believe in us, and we believe in ourselves, and just go out and play clear minded football.”

Guard Dalton Risner signed with the Vikings as a free agent after the first two games of the season. He had visited the Vikings in the summer and been impressed with O’Connell when the coach agreed to pray with him. Risner said the gesture was “pretty awesome” and suggested to him the kind of organization he could be joining.

The positivity that Risner found in the locker room was evidenced by how Cousins connected with Dobbs and welcomed him. “…He’s been awesome,” Dobbs said. “The first thing he said was, ‘If you need anything, want to know more about the offense, whatever you need – don’t hesitate to call, text.’ And he’s been in our meetings. So just being able to bounce ideas off him, ask him how he sees different plays that we’re installing, it’s been awesome, and I’ll continue to use him as a resource.”

Kevin O’Connell photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

Success can’t be realized, of course, without preparation and game plans. “I think it’s a credit to both the players and the coaches for being ready to roll and consistently having that standard of preparation that we kind of hang our hat on around here,” O’Connell said. “It’s on us as coaches to have a game plan that our guys can absorb and then go thrive in, whether they get the reps or not, and then players making it come to life by their execution. …”

O’Connell’s savant like work as an offensive strategist, play caller, quarterback developer and team leader have positioned him among the early favorites for NFL Coach of the Year. You can be sure he will have the “vote” of his players.

Worth Noting

NFL media authority Mike Florio, talking on Paul Allen’s KFAN show last week, said Dobbs is faster than elusive Super Bowl champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Fans are often impatient but Gophers’ redshirt sophomore QB Athan Kaliakmanis deserves understanding. Going back to his junior year of high school in Illinois he missed part of the schedule because of injury. COVID dictated a reduced senior season schedule in the spring of 2021. That fall he redshirted with the Gophers before getting five starts in 2022. A starter in 10 games this season, Kaliakmanis is working under his third offensive coordinator in three years.

Recall that Bo Nix was a struggling quarterback for Auburn when the Gophers won the 2020 Outback Bowl. Fast forward to this fall when Nix, now playing for Oregon, has started more college games at QB than any collegian ever and is forecasted as an NFL first round draft choice.

Matt Millen, who was here November 4 to work the Minnesota-Illinois game for the Big Ten Network, waited about 100 days in 2018 to receive a heart from a donor and have a successful transplant.

Joe Mauer is eligible for election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame with an announcement coming in January as to who will be inducted in the summer of 2024. It’s certainly possible the former Twins catcher, whose accomplishments include three batting titles and the 2009 American League MVP Award, will not make it on his first try. Famous players who didn’t receive enough votes in their first year of eligibility include Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Harmon Killebrew. It’s fair to say, though, that in the present era voters (baseball writers) aren’t as persnickety as they once were.

The Brewers would be savvy to consider Paul Molitor as their next manager. His knowledge of baseball is extraordinary, and he has the experience of managing the Twins for four seasons. A former Brewers star, Molitor’s name is legendary in Wisconsin as it is in Minnesota, including from his playing days with the Twins.

Molitor is 67 but older managers can have success. Dusty Baker just retired at 74 and three years ago the White Sox hired Tony La Russa at age 76. Both had storied managerial careers. The Angels hired Ron Washington, 71, as their new manager several days ago.

Jack Wilson, the 6-11, 285-pound grad transfer center, plays hard for the Gophers and with his hulking appearance, effort and limited finesse could become a fan favorite coming off the bench. He may follow in the legacy of past reserves who were fan favorites like Hosea Crittenden, Russ Archambault, Rob Schoenrock, Ryan Saunders and David Grimm.

Kyle Counts, the 6-7 basketball forward from Wilsonville, Oregon who signed with St. Thomas last week as part of the Tommies’ 2024 recruiting class, is the grandson of Mel Counts, the former 7-foot NBA center and 1964 Olympian.

Astute hockey observer and Sports Headliners reader and advertiser (Iron Horse) John Justice points out this state has a history of on-ice tragedies with the most recent being Adam Johnson. The Hibbing native died last month in England while playing hockey and having his throat slit by an opposing player’s blade.

Hockey historians will remember in January of 1968 Bill Masterton, 29 and playing at Met Center for the expansion North Stars, hit his head on the ice during a game and died about 30 hours later. Another North Star from the 1970s, Warroad native Henry Boucha, tragically was poked in the eye by the hockey stick of Dave Forbes from the Bruins and the resulting blurred vision curtailed his promising career.

Duke Pieper was only 15 in 2008 and about to play his first varsity game for Hill-Murray when he suffered a brain bleed and was given about a five percent chance to survive. Surgeries and multiple complications made his life extraordinarily difficult for years, but he earned a college degree at Minnesota and has written an inspiring book called I’m Alive: Courage, Hope and a Miracle.

In 2011 Jack Jablonski, playing on the Benilde-St. Margaret’s junior varsity, suffered a neck injury that left him paralyzed. His spirit for life continues, though, including with his efforts to raise money for spinal cord injury research.

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For Mike Grant a Fall of Football, Hunting & Memories of Bud

Posted on November 7, 2023 by David Shama

It was a timely phone call to Mike Grant last week. Not only was his 9-0 Eden Prairie football team getting ready for its playoff game against Eagan, but the opening Saturday of deer hunting was fast approaching.

Mike and wife Colleen are avid hunters. Mike’s dad Bud Grant, the legendary former Vikings coach who passed away last March at age 96, was known almost as much for his outdoor passions as he was for football. Mike and Bud were close, and the EP head football coach thinks about his famous father every day.

“I talked to him every day in the fall (in past years),” Mike told Sports Headliners. “Yeah, it’s a strange first. You know the first football season without him and then the first hunting season without him, and it’ll be the first Christmas without him.

“It’s what everybody goes through, you know, when you lose a loved one. So…we’re not unique. We’re not special. It’s just we’re going through what everybody else has gone through.”

For the Grants hunting was more about being outside and sharing time with family than shooting wildlife. Last November Bud spent time deer hunting at Mike’s place near Wadena, Minnesota. It would be his last go round in a sport that began for him at 14 years old in rural Wisconsin.

Mike said he doesn’t know if Bud shot “50, 60, 100” deer in his lifetime but his dad liked to tell stories about them. “He could tell you that story of every single deer (he shot). He remembered them all.”

In younger days Bud could sit in a tree all day, ignoring the cold weather, eating a banana, and waiting for a deer. During the autumns of decades ago his dad insisted on minimal noise when deer hunting including no racket like slamming a car door. Later in life when Bud couldn’t walk distances, he told Mike to drive him right up to the deer stand. “It doesn’t matter, the deer don’t care,” Bud said.

In recent falls there was no hurrying Bud to get out into the woods. Everyone else was ready to go before the patriarch. Mike was anxious to get out the door, but Bud would say, “I’ve never shot a deer at sunup.”

Bud had a lot of mounted deer antlers at his Bloomington house. It was part of his makeup to collect things and that habit enabled him to have his well-publicized annual garage sales when he was in his 90s.

“He was very proud of his three-legged buffalo nickel,” Mike said. “In the end he’d forget that he showed you something and he’d get out his coin collection and say, ‘I got the three-legged Buffalo nickel.’ …”

Mike saw changes with his dad over the years, including a more talkative and outgoing Bud. A stranger might tell Mike how approachable Bud was, taking time to visit someone he had never met. “When he got into his 80s, he was very outgoing, very gregarious. Talked to people.”

As Bud aged, he lost more and more of his pals, with his kids (six children) filling the role of best friends. “He didn’t have many friends at the end,” Mike said. “Think about it. You’re 96.”

A difficult loss was when Minneapolis media icon Sid Hartman passed away in 2020. “You gotta figure Sid was a rock for him since (back when) he was in college. As cantankerous as Sid could be, he was my dad’s best friend,” Mike said about the relationship that formed when newspaper man Sid befriended Bud at the University of Minnesota.

The two didn’t get outdoors a lot and when they did Sid was out of his element. There is a famous story about the two having car trouble at night in the middle of nowhere. Sid started to walk for help and noticed what he thought was a spotlight from a nearby town. No, Bud corrected, that was the moon Sid spotted.

Mike brushed off the question if he dedicated this season to his Hall of Fame father who coached the Vikings to four Super Bowls. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what that means.

“No, I think about him every day. Miss him every day. My dad would say the same thing, ‘What does that mean (dedicating the season)?’…I don’t think that way I guess.”

Does Mike wear something that reminds him of Bud? A cap, shirt, or watch? Maybe use an old whistle of Bud’s on the football field. Nope.

Mike said he is sentimental but wearing things like that doesn’t resonate. “…I am not doing something for show. …I don’t need a thing to remember him every day.”

Bud coached his last Vikings team in 1985 but he remained interested in football and other sports. His analytical mind made him an interesting companion to watch a football or baseball game with.

“He was our biggest fan,” Mike said. “He watched our games closely. …For years he came to every game except when the ducks were flying, then he’d be gone.”

Bud Grant (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.)

Bud was interested in Eden Prairie’s personnel and asked for scouting reports on the opposition, but he didn’t tell Mike how to handle the Eagles. “He was interested, but he did not tell me how to coach in any way, shape or form,” Mike said while referring to his dad more as a cheerleader than an advisor.

At age 66 Mike has far more coaching experience than his father who retired at 58. Mike has won 11 large school state championships at Eden Prairie. The 2023 Eagles are another powerhouse with a 10-0 record. The closest final scores for the Eagles were with Prior Lake and Minnetonka, who both lost by 14 points. The Eagles have been dominant, but Mike will tell you his teams don’t run up the score and they don’t “pad” statistics for individuals.

The Eagles play a 6A quarterfinal game this Friday against Lakeville North. Mike said there is a “standard for greatness” at Eden Prairie and in that sense the team has much to accomplish on their march to another possible 6A state tournament title. He praises the Eagles, though, for getting through a demanding regular season schedule against the bigger enrollment schools in the state.

The Eagles have talent, size (loaded with behemoths of 240 pounds or more) and experience with Grant saying, “it’s hard to win with juniors.” The roster includes defensive tackle Mo Saine, a Gopher recruit with lots of upside since he didn’t start playing football until 10^th grade. Other standouts on defense include tackle Dennis Rahouski and under recruited defensive back Terae Dunn who Grant refers to “as good as any player in the state.”

Elijah Rumph, son of Vikings defensive line coach Chris Rumph, has been a leading rusher. Major contributors on offense also include quarterback David Ivey, tackle Ethan Sims who just committed to St. Thomas and Princeton-bound center Will Sather.

Mike is still passionate about coaching and plans to continue next season as head coach of the Eagles. He loves being around the players all year, whether it’s in the weight room, at practice or on gameday. And he just might get another state championship in his first fall without his dad.

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Vikings’ Must-Win, Gophers’ Uniforms Headline Worthy

Posted on September 19, 2023 by David Shama

Enjoy a Tuesday notes column.

Coach P.J. Fleck is a creative thinker, and that includes how he approaches the uniforms his players wear. His commitment to putting the Gophers in various color combinations has been so extensive since becoming head football coach in 2017 that the athletic department communications office publishes a “Gopher Uniform Tracker” in its weekly news release for the media.

Frequently the Gophers wear combinations of maroon and gold, but black on black has been worn at Minnesota and by other Power Five teams who find the look appealing among players, coaches and younger fans. At the last home game, the Gophers unveiled their new all-black dark mode uniforms for an evening match up with Eastern Michigan. The look prompted both favorable and critical comments sent to Fleck and Sports Headliners.

Fleck said yesterday respect for the school’s maroon and gold colors remains in place and always will. “…We’re adding a little flavor to it (the uniforms). That’s…because it’s all about the players. Everything we do is about the players that are on that field. The student athletes love it. Our student body loves it. The young people love it, and I get it.”

Uniform colors vary most weeks because the players like that and they have a constant voice in what they wear. “…And I don’t think there was one email from our players that said I didn’t like those (the dark-mode uniforms),” Fleck said. “And that’s with no disrespect to our fans. We have the best fans, and we have the best supporters. I had a lot of emails about it, and I feel it. I appreciate that. But I also got just as many, if not more, by how much people liked them.”

This week Dinkytown Athletes, the official Name, Image and Likeness Collective of Golden Gopher Athletics, is introducing a retro merchandise collection featuring “M” Club Hall of Fame Gopher athletes. The first merchandise offering features Gopher football greats Marion Barber, Jr. (‘77-’80), Rickey Foggie (‘84-’87) and Pete Najarian (‘82-’85). Retro jerseys and shirts are available for a limited amount of time with a portion of the proceeds donated to DA.

“This is a great way to celebrate the achievements of past Gopher athletes while supporting the current ones,” Najarian said in a DA news release. “We need to embrace our alumni and get them involved. Let’s remember the past and support our future at the same time!”

Led by co-founders Derek Burns and Robert Gag, DA started about a year ago and directly supports current student athletes with NIL deals. In the highly competitive world of college sports, NIL is a continuing priority for DA and the Gophers.

Watch for merchandise offers in the coming months featuring Gopher basketball and hockey greats. More on the new initiative at https://athletesthread.com/collections/gopher-legend

The Vikings need to duck almost certain disaster by not losing to the Chargers on Sunday and starting the season 0-3. ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell wrote yesterday that since 2002 99 NFL teams have started their seasons 0-3 but only one (the 2018 Texans) has made it to the playoffs. The Chargers are also 0-2 and have lost those games by a total of five points.

A cheery stat is that 0-2 NFL teams do go on to make the playoffs, with that happening seven of the last 10 seasons. Last season eight of the 14 teams making the playoffs started either 1-1 or 0-2. That includes the Bengals who started 0-2 and won the AFC North.

The Vikings must show they can do better at stopping the run, while also rushing more effectively. The Vikings were gouged by the Eagles’ run game last Thursday night and rank 29^th among 32 NFL teams giving up 332 yards rushing this season.

Look for Minnesota to commit more to running the ball at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday against a Chargers’ defense not that formidable against the rush, allowing 211 yards in two games and 3.9 yards per carry. The Vikings so far this season are passing 77.9 percent of the time, the most in the NFL, per Teamrankings.com.

It’s evident the Vikings miss the explosive run production of Dalvin Cook, who was released in the offseason and is now with the Jets. Not working in their favor either is left tackle Christian Darrisaw (ankle) and center Garrett Bradbury (back) could be sidelined on Sunday. The reported signing of free agent guard Dalton Risner, a consistent player who figures to be the best of the pass blockers on the roster of guards, should help.

Former Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, now with the Chargers, will be dealing with a hamstring injury this week that kept him out of last Sunday’s game against the Titans. The 31-year-old veteran has been outstanding against the pass during his career.

Chargers’ starting offensive tackle Trey Pipkins III is from Apple Valley and played collegiately at Sioux Falls. The 27-year-old started 14 games for the Chargers last season and has two starts in 2023.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts, who connected on 26 of 31 passes last week and 331 yards against the Vikings, is on the cover of Time Magazine for the feature 100 of the “world’s rising stars.” Peyton Manning wrote a profile about Hurts and referred to him as “a model of how to approach a job.”

Detroit can claim the most NFL players among American cities. The NFL reports that after analyzing the 2023 opening week rosters of all teams and where the players come from, Detroit was first with 19, followed by Bradenton, Florida with 17 and Houston at 16.

Gophers’ true freshman tailback Darius Taylor is a Detroit native. He was again named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after he ran for 138 yards last Saturday against North Carolina. A week ago he won the honor for the first time after a 193 yard performance versus Eastern Michigan. Taylor is the program’s first Freshman of the Week in consecutive weeks since running back Shannon Brooks in November of 2015.

Sports Headliners reader and Gophers’ basketball fan Scott Ballou emailed news about former Minnesota head coach Clem Haskins who turned 80 on August 11. Ex-Gophers Walter Bond, Randy Carter, Ariel McDonald and John Thomas travelled last month to Campbellsville, Kentucky to celebrate their coach’s 80^th birthday. “Other former players had contacted him as well,” Ballou said via email while noting he had spoken by phone last month to Haskins. “He was very proud that many of his former players were still close and had stuck together over the years. He said he and his family were doing well and his son Brent lives in Hudson and works for the Cleveland Cavaliers.”

Happy birthday to talented St. Thomas men’s basketball coach John Tauer who turned 51 yesterday. His Tommies won the 2016 Division III national title.

Friends have been looking for former Gophers’ basketball assistant coach Jimmy Williams for about 12 months and he has been found at the Brynwood Health and Rehabilitation facility in Monticello, Florida. Jay Pivec, who coached with Williams on the 1982 Big Ten champion Gophers, said Williams suffered a stroke last week but is thinking clearly while struggling with his speech. Williams was an assistant coach at Minnesota for 15 seasons including for the 1972 and 1982 Big Ten title teams.

The Twins will face starting right hander Hunter Greene on Wednesday in the closing game of their series with the Reds in Cincinnati. The Twins had to choose between Greene and Royce Lewis in the 2017 MLB Draft, taking Lewis as the No. 1 overall pick while Greene went second. They made the right choice with Lewis, an everyday player, and now among baseball’s most promising young players, while Green has a career record of 9-19 and 4.45 ERA. Bailey Ober, 7-6 with a 3.67 ERA, will oppose Greene Wednesday.

With the popularity of the Gophers volleyball team, you might wonder if the U athletic department is considering an outdoor match for Huntington Bank Stadium after the Cornhuskers drew an announced attendance of 91,648 for a match on August 30 in the Nebraska football stadium. That was a world record attendance for a women’s sports event.

It will be interesting to see if the Wednesday night best of three WNBA playoff series game at Target Center between the Lynx and Sun sells out. The Lynx website lists available tickets from $24 to $334.

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