Vikings Coach shares why he offered Colts’ Anthony Richardson viral encouragement

Minnesota Vikings Coach Kevin O’Connell’s stock has risen dramatically in 2024 – and not just on the sidelines.

On Thursday, a video circulated from NFL Films featuring O’Connell offering words of encouragement recently sat on the couch Indianapolis foals quarterback Anthony Richardson after the Vikings’ 21-13 victory Sunday. The coach, once a backup quarterback himself, earned praise for his class.

O’Connell elaborates on his words from Friday told reporters (via Kevin Seifert of ESPN) that he wanted Richardson to know how he felt.

“Whether it meant something to him or not didn’t matter. And I think it’s a good thing for everyone in society to do this. If you have the opportunity to help someone else in circumstances that might while they are working through it are not ideal, but there is a road and a path – in my opinion a pretty big road for him who has had a very, very successful NFL career – (you should),” said O’Connell.

Richardson was benched after completing just 10 of his 32 pass attempts in a 23–20 loss to the Houston Texans.

“I’m just a huge fan, and if you have something to say to uplift someone else, you might as well say it and not keep it to yourself,” O’Connell said.