Ex-Patriots Quarterback Considered As Top Head-Coaching Prospect

The Washington Redskins promoted passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kevin O’Connell to offensive coordinator. O’Connell has been really successful in his career, and the New England Patriots selected him as a third-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was a backup quarterback for Tom Brady and spent some time with other teams, too. O’Connell retired in 2012 and became a quarterbacks coach in Cleveland in 2015. As an offensive assistant, O’Connell spent a year with the San Francisco 49ers, and joined the Redskins in 2017.

In March, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said he promoted O’Connell with the only purpose to keep him around.

“Kevin is obviously a very talented coach and I think people understand that,” said Gruden. “We were getting some nibbles out there to try to get him interviewed for coordinator, I wanted to make sure we kept him here, so I put him in the coordinator role.”

Redskins tight end Vernon Davis loves O’Connell and approves his promotion.

“It’s a great opportunity for him, he’s a great person, he’s also a great coach,” said Davis. “He’s very in tune to what he’s doing and what he needs to do. I knew that watching him all last year being the quarterbacks coach. Stepping in, a young guy who is very passionate about the game, 33 years old and he has a great future ahead of him. It’s very, very exciting to see him take over that responsibility as offensive coordinator because it’s well-deserved. He’s going to do extremely well.”

ESPN NFl analyst Louis Riddick was a director of pro personnel for the Redskins from 2005-07, and he said that he would hire O’Connell if he were to return to the league as a general manager.

“Kevin O’Connell is one of those guys who I know I myself, if I’m ever to get back in the league and be a GM, that’s a guy people continually put on my radar and talk about as, ‘You have to watch this young man, you have to keep an eye on him,'” said Riddick. “He needs to be the main voice in Dwayne Haskins‘ ear, he’s the one that they need to let really guide him through the early part of his career and the early part of his rookie season until he eventually becomes a head coach somewhere, because people think he’s special.”