PALM BEACH, Fla. — Kevin O'Connell spent five days playing for the Detroit Lions in the 2009 preseason, and the new Minnesota Vikings coach said he has fond memories of his time there.
"I got to walk out on the field pregame and got to see Matthew Stafford throwing a football and said that’s what first overall picks are supposed to look like," O'Connell said Tuesday at the NFL's annual meeting. "We weren’t together long, but it was funny kind of eventually coming full circle to coach him was awesome and now he’s one of the closest people in the league to me and I got so much respect having accomplished that ultimate goal side by side with him.