“Not surprised” about O’Connell’s success, McVay told L.A. reporters on Monday. “He’s done a great job his first two years with the variety of situations that have presented themselves. … Made a tremendous influence and impact here.”
O’Connell said he draws from his Rams experiences all the time, such as allowing Vikings assistant coaches to call plays in the preseason.
“That’s one of the things that probably made me feel so prepared for this job was [McVay’s] willingness to allow me to be a part of things,” O’Connell said, “that maybe at other places, offensive coordinators aren’t a part of. I got to see a lot, learn a lot, ask a lot of questions, probably one too many for his liking.”
“The process of that organization,” he added, “the culture, the people, the player ownership-led kind of driving force behind that bar being raised during my time there to eventually win in the last game we got to play together at SoFi [Stadium] and the Super Bowl was a culmination of a lot of things that I always look back on.
“That’s a huge part of my experience that led me to this opportunity.”
