Former Redskins OC Kevin O’Connell to join Rams, Sean McVay
The Washington Redskins decided to let Kevin O’Connell explore other opportunities. That has landed him with the Los Angeles Rams.
This offseason, the Washington Redskins had a decision to make with their offensive staff. After bringing aboard Ron Rivera as their new head coach, the ‘Skins were choosing between incumbent offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell and Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Scott Turner for their OC position.
Earlier this week, the Redskins chose Turner to run their offense moving forward. And O’Connell was free to explore other opportunities after that.
On Friday night, it was confirmed that O’Connell had found his new opportunity. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that O’Connell will be joining the Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay as their new offensive coordinator.
Rams are finalizing a deal to make former Redskins offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell their offensive coordinator, per source. O’Connell succeeded McVay as OC in Washington, now will work with him in LA.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 11, 2020
O’Connell had also been connected to the Philadelphia Eagles and Josh McDaniels, should he land with the Cleveland Browns, but ultimately, he settled on working with McVay.
McVay and O’Connell actually never overlapped in D.C. as McVay left just as O’Connell was arriving to take over the quarterback coaching job. But McVay must recognize that O’Connell is a bright, young offensive mind like himself. And after operating last year without an offensive coordinator, McVay is bringing O’Connell on board to take some pressure off himself on that side of the ball.
That said, the position is unlikely to be a play-calling one for O’Connell. McVay will likely continue to call his own plays moving forward and O’Connell will be there to design plays and absorb as much from McVay as he can. O’Connell should help with the design too, as he had some creative concepts that he showed off late in the season for the ‘Skins.
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Overall, this seems like a good fit for O’Connell. He’ll have more time to learn from one of the best offensive minds in football. As for the Redskins, they have another up-and-comer at the offensive coordinator position. And while they lose the continuity they would have retained with O’Connell, they should be just fine in the hands of Turner.