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Kevin O’Connell’s ‘welcome to the NFL’ moment featured an impatient Randy Moss

Each person experiences a moment that can be described as their introduction to the NFL. The story of Kevin O’Connell revolves around one of the most legendary Vikings in history.

O’Connell, who is currently leading the Vikings as their head coach, started his football career as a rookie quarterback selected by the Patriots in the third round of the 2008 draft. During his initial training session, he admitted to Josh Metellus in a recent video that he struggled to convey the play calls with enough assurance to captivate the legendary Randy Moss.

“It feels like it was just yesterday when I can vividly recall that initial practice,” reminisced O’Connell. “Upon entering the circle of players, I stumbled over approximately 3 or 4 plays as I tried to communicate them.” Randy Moss made the choice not to practice with me. He said ‘ah, blank no’ and left the huddle.”
“On Tell Us With Metellus, we are delving deep into the heart of the matter, an experience that has profoundly influenced my life ever since,” O’Connell remarked. “In those instances when I am on the verge of calling out your name, ‘Hey Josh!’ I recall that particular moment and instead I think to myself, ‘You know what, Josh? Let’s work through this together.'”

Although O’Connell’s time as a player in the NFL was brief, everything turned out fine in the end. In his third season as head coach, he has emerged as a strong candidate for the Coach of the Year award, leading the 8-2 Vikings with authority.

In a serendipitous twist of fate, Moss, a former Viking, played a role in guiding O’Connell towards becoming the head coach of Minnesota, albeit indirectly. That is quite impressive.

Within the complete episode of Tell Us With Metellus, there are additional amusing anecdotes shared by players and coaches that serve as their introduction to the NFL. The story of Cam Bynum includes his teammate Aaron Jones posting about him on Instagram back when he was a newcomer to the team. Metellus also experienced a touchdown from Lambeau Field, courtesy of Davante Adams during the COVID season. This was accompanied by some bold words exchanged directly in front of him.