Kevin Seifert Drops Clear Message on Vikings' 2026 Season

The pressure is on the Minnesota Vikings and head coach Kevin O'Connell after a missed playoff appearance and significant offseason haul in the last year. It's time to get it done.

The Vikings have had plenty of regular season success in the O'Connell Era of Minnesota football. They have had regular season success in past eras, too. The issue is what the Vikings are doing in the playoffs. So far, they are doing more of the same.

O'Connell still has time to prove he can get it done. In fairness, he has not always been given "his guys" in the NFL draft. Still, it's time to see more proof of concept when the Vikings reach the postseason.

ESPN NFL insider Kevin Seifert writes that it's time for O'Connell to finally have postseason success with Minnesota. Here's some of what he wrote on the topic.

"During his first four seasons, O'Connell won an NFL Coach of the Year award (2024) and collected 43 regular season wins, tied for fifth most in the NFL over that period. But he is winless in two playoff appearances, and there is a relatively short list of recent NFL coaches who made it to a sixth season without first winning a playoff game.

The last three occasions have been Washington's Jay Gruden (2014-18), Houston's Gary Kubiak (2006-10) and Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis (2003-07), per ESPN Research. Gruden was fired midway through his sixth season. Kubiak continued with the Texans for an additional three seasons, during which he went 2-2 in the playoffs. Lewis famously made it through 16 seasons -- all without winning a playoff game (0-7).

What would missing the playoffs mean for O'Connell? If owners Zygi and Mark Wilf give him a sixth season in that scenario, it would at a minimum be a display of confidence that few other NFL owners have delivered this century."

Chance of winning the NFC North, per ESPN Analytics: Lions: 38% Packers: 33% Bears: 19% Vikings: 10%

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) July 20, 2026 Seifert shares, per ESPN analytics, that the Vikings have just a 10% chance to win the NFC North behind the Lions (38%), Packers (33%) and Bears (19%). The Lions will have the benefit of facing a last place schedule, which means they will face other NFC teams that finished last in their respective divisions. In an NFC North where everyone had a winning record last season, that is a tremendous advantage.

Still, the Vikings face a third place schedule, and they have what figures to be a more complete roster than they had a year ago. Perhaps that perception is skewed by having an anticipated quarterback upgrade over J.J. McCarthy in Kyler Murray despite losing key players on the defensive line and at receiver and safety.

The Vikings need to make the playoffs and they need to win this season. They will hope to start with a season opening regular season win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 1.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →