O'Connell has evolved as a play-caller and an offensive planner since he learned many of his methods while he was an assistant to McVay on the Rams staff in Los Angeles.

Sean McVay has grown a healthy coaching tree in his eight seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. Five of his former assistants have become NFL head coaches, while several more have been poached for bigger jobs in college and the pros.

First-round selection Dallas Turner was a main cog for the Vikings’ defense in their Week 1 win over the Giants, where he saw 35 snaps. But in the past three games, he has seen 28 total

O’Connell was an assistant coach for the Rams and McVay, and the teams will meet Thursday night with little prep time.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell shared his thoughts about rookie first-round pick Dallas Turner, who has not played much.

Since, taking over in Minnesota, O'Connell boasts a 25-15 regular season record. When talking to Los Angeles media on Monday, McVay said he was "not surprised" by O'Connell's success in Minnesota.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell met with reporters on Monday at TCO Performance Center after their first loss of the season, and ahead of their Thursday Night Football match-up at the L.A. Rams.

It was the little things that hurt the Vikings' offense in their 31-29 loss to the Lions on Sunday. They averaged 7.4 yards per play and were neck-and-neck with Detroit on the stat sheet, but head coach Kevin O'Connell wasn't happy with the penalties and other self-inflicted wounds that may have made the difference in such a tightly-contested game between two great teams.