The Minnesota Vikings stunned the NFL world when they abruptly fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Friday, January 30.
That inspired ESPN radio host Jake Asman to share a bold 2027 New York Jets prediction on social media.
“Calling it now. Darren Mougey hires his college roommate, Kevin O’Connell, as the next Jets head coach one year from now,” Asman posted.
“If I’m the Jets, I’m calling the Vikings owners and asking if one of their five future first round picks gets Kevin O’Connell right now. Almost zero chance, but it’s worth the call,” Asman added.
Explaining How That Acquisition Could Happen
In January of 2025, O’Connell and the Vikings reached an agreement on a long-term extension.
The team didn’t officially announce the terms of the deal. However, Dustin Baker of Vikings Territory shared that “the deal is worth $13 million per season and extends O’Connell’s stay through the end of the 2029 campaign — so five more years in total.”
In other words, the only way O’Connell could end up with the Jets is either via trade or the Vikings surprisingly fire him a year from now, which appears unlikely based on his resume.
O’Connell has been the head coach of the Purple People Eaters for four seasons. During that time, he has a 43-25 record.
That includes three winning seasons across those four years. Two of those seasons finished with 13 and 14 wins, respectively. For context, the Jets in their team history have never won more than 12 games during a regular season.
Before KOC signed that extension, NFL Insider Jay Glazer of Fox Sports revealed that “multiple teams” were considering trade offers to send the Vikings for O’Connell.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert revealed that O’Connell was “displeased” with how his contract talks played out before receiving his extension.
Plenty of Connective Tissue Between KOC and the Jets
Before becoming a coach in 2015, O’Connell played in the league as a quarterback from 2008 through 2012.
That included two separate stints with the Jets in 2009-10 and in 2011. The Jets actually traded for O’Connell to start his first stint with the team.
In September of 2009, the Jets traded a 2011 seventh-round pick to acquire O’Connell from the Detroit Lions.
‘It allowed me to form some really unique relationships @Mark_Sanchez, @nickmangold, @cotcheryfoundat, @DUSTINKELLER81, @thomasqjones, @LT_21 … I just
The Jets’ current general manager, Darren Mougey, and O’Connell were teammates back in college at San Diego State.
They were teammates for three seasons from 2005 through 2007. Mougey and O’Connell were both in the quarterback room.
The Not so Secret Necessary Sauce to All of This
Obviously the green and white don’t have a head coach vacancy right now. However it appears that Aaron Glenn is on the hottest of hot seats heading into the 2026 season.
If he doesn’t win games there is a chance he could be fired, which means the Jets will once again be looking for a head coach in 2027.
That would be a necessary ingredient to even consider O’Connell from a team perspective.
O’Connell would titillate fans.
He is an offensive coach; the Jets have only had one of those in the 26-year ownership history of Woody Johnson. That was Adam Gase, and that didn’t go well.
Additionally, the Jets have only had one retread head coach in Johnson’s history of owning the team. That was also Gase, again, that didn’t go swimmingly.
O’Connell is a proven offensive coach who has a history of developing quarterbacks.
Vikings Firing Leads to Bold Jets HC Trade Prediction