Kevin O’Connell found himself repeatedly sending some version of the same text message to his former college roommate at various points during the Jets offseason.
And, no, he wasn’t just blowing smoke in GM Darren Mougey’s direction.
“Most of the time I was complimenting him on whether it was a great draft they had, or how they handled some of their internal situations there — getting their running back (Breece Hall re-signed),” O’Connell, the Vikings head coach, said Thursday on a Zoom ahead of golfing in the American Century Championship.
“I just think the plan that he’s had has been really well thought-out. It’s one thing — a lot of teams put the time and the energy in to have as much good planning as you can — but it’s about the execution of those plans. The way Darren has gone about it doesn’t surprise me.”
O’Connell, a former Jets backup quarterback who now is regarded as one of the league’s top quarterback whisperers, and Mougey were San Diego State football teammates who have stayed in touch during their non-overlapping NFL journeys.
“I know there’s not a day Darren shows up to work that he doesn’t feel prepared — and I think that’s proving to be the case,” O’Connell said. “He’s not afraid to make difficult decisions, and I think that’s because it’s in alignment with the process that he has. He’s attempting to execute a vision that he has for that organization. As a former Jet, it’s always good to see the organization in good hands — and they certainly are with Darren and A.G. (head coach Aaron Glenn).”
After Mougey loaded up on draft picks by trading Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner during a teardown 2025 season, the 2026 Jets should feature at least six new defensive starters thanks to spreading around a relatively modest $88.4 million free-agency tab, three rookies drafted in the first round (including pass-catchers Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper Jr.) and a new stopgap quarterback (Geno Smith).
The Jets signed Hall and guard Joe Tippmann to extensions, keeping all 10 non-quarterback offensive starters under contract through 2027.
The plan seems to be putting complementary pieces in place that allow Smith’s eventual young successor to hit the ground running.
O’Connell’s Vikings, who are 43-25 with eight different starting quarterbacks in four seasons and soon could be onto No. 9 in Kyler Murray, provide a sort of blueprint for building a playoff team that isn’t quarterback-centric.
O’Connell’s offense is built to generate easy completions and set up explosives.
“What we’ve tried to do is put together a world where the quarterback — whoever is in the game for us — can prepare and simply do their job,” O’Connell said. “When you get quality play at that position — and what that looks like can look a lot different depending on guys’ skill set — it just leads to so many avenues to your team having a chance to win different types of games.”
The American Century Championship will be held July 10-12 at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Lake Tahoe and televised on NBC Sports.
O’Connell is a first-timer who is expected to be joined by Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and Titans head coach Robert Saleh in a field of more than 90 competitors.
The tournament has raised more than $8 million for charity in its first 36 years.
