NFC North head coaches ranked from worst to best in 2023

2. Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings

You should never apologize for winning, and Kevin O'Connell led his team to 13 victories last season.

Many questioned how good the Vikings really were due to their flawless regular-season record in one-score games. O'Connell's Vikings went 11-0 in games settled by a touchdown or less. Was it skill or luck?

They also went 13-4 despite having a negative points differential -- Minnesota scored 424 points but allowed 427.

However, O'Connell deserves credit. When it came to crunch time, the Vikings found ways to win. Good teams do this.

O'Connell isn't just judged on the Vikings' win-loss column, but also the success of their offense. And it was another job well done in 2022. Minnesota ranked seventh in yards per game and eighth in points per game. The Vikings had the sixth-best passing offense.

Questions will be asked this season. Can O'Connell back up last year's 13-4 record? It won't be easy as several star players, including Za'Darius Smith, Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks, and Dalvin Tomlinson, have departed.

But the fact is that O'Connell inherited a Vikings team that had failed to make the playoffs for two consecutive seasons and led them to a 13-4 record and NFC North title.

It was the perfect start to his head coaching career.