Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell, lauded for his professional dealings with the media who cover the Vikings and the NFL, has been selected as the 2025 Horrigan Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
O’Connell, the 53rd Horrigan Award winner, is the first member of the Vikings franchise to receive the award. O’Connell is the first head coach to win the Horrigan since Ron Rivera with the Washington Commanders in 2023.
The Horrigan Award is given to the league or club official for his or her qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job. Jack Horrigan was a sportswriter for UPI and the Buffalo Evening News, public relations director for the American Football League (1963-66) and vice president of public relations for the Buffalo Bills (1966-73). Joe Horrigan is in his 46th year with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame’s current senior advisor was executive director (2017-19), executive vice president of museums, selection process and chief communications officer (2014-17) and vice president, communications and exhibits (1996-2014).
Other 2025 nominees for the Horrigan Award were Los Angeles Rams president Kevin Demoff, 49ers general manager John Lynch, NFL VP of communications Brian McCarthy and NFL EVP of football operations Troy Vincent.
O’Connell completed his third season leading the Vikings in 2024, as Minnesota went 14-3 and was in the hunt for the NFC’s No. 1 seed until the final game of the regular season. After the season, he was selected by the PFWA as the 2024 NFL Coach of the Year.
O’Connell was recognized for his openness and helpfulness with reporters. He routinely gives one-on-one interviews, meets regularly with beat writers for off-the-record discussions, provides thoughtful explanations for his decisions after games, and he creates an environment where both players and assistant coaches – like Grant Udinski, the assistant QB coach who became the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator – feel free to tell their stories.
“From the moment Kevin arrived in Minnesota, he has treated the local and national media with honesty, thoughtfulness and respect for our jobs,” said ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert, the PFWA Minnesota chapter president. “We couldn’t expect anything else.”
HORRIGAN AWARD WINNERS (To the league or club official for his or her qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job) Year indicates when award was presented for previous season: 1973 – John Breen (Houston Oilers); 1974 – O.J. Simpson (Buffalo Bills); 1975 – Art Rooney Sr. (Pittsburgh Steelers); 1976 – Floyd Little (Denver Broncos); 1977 – Jerry Wynn (San Diego Chargers); 1978 – Bob Peck (Denver Broncos); 1979 – John Madden (Oakland Raiders); 1980 – Bum Phillips (Houston Oilers); 1981 – Bob Sprenger (Kansas City Chiefs); 1982 – Joe Gordon (Pittsburgh Steelers); 1983 – Archie Manning (New Orleans Saints/Houston Oilers); 1984 – Art Rooney Sr. (Pittsburgh Steelers); 1985 – Joe Browne (NFL); 1986 – Dick Steinberg (New England Patriots); 1987 – Charlie Dayton (Atlanta Falcons); 1988 – Art Modell (Cleveland Browns); 1989 – Tom Landry (Dallas Cowboys); 1990 – George Young (New York Giants); 1991 – Jim Finks (New Orleans Saints); 1992 – John Robinson (Los Angeles Rams); 1993 – Warren Moon (Houston Oilers); 1994 – Don Shula (Miami Dolphins); 1995 – Leslie Hammond (NFL); 1996 – Ron Wolf (Green Bay Packers); 1997 – Don Smith (Pro Football Hall of Fame); 1998 – Tony Dungy (Tampa Bay Buccaneers); 1999 – Greg Aiello (NFL); 2000 – Ernie Accorsi (New York Giants); 2001 – Jeff Fisher (Tennessee Titans); 2002 – Charley Casserly (Houston Texans); 2003 – Herman Edwards (New York Jets); 2004 – Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens); 2005 – Rich McKay (Atlanta Falcons); 2006 – Floyd Reese (Tennessee Titans); 2007 – Steve Alic (NFL); 2008 – Mike Holmgren (Seattle Seahawks); 2009 – Dan Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers); 2010 – Gil Brandt (NFL.com); 2011 – Rex Ryan (New York Jets); 2012 – Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons); 2013 – Michael Signora (NFL); 2014 – Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks); 2015 – Bruce Arians (Arizona Cardinals); 2016 – John Elway (Denver Broncos); 2017 – Mike Mayock (NFL Network); 2018 – Randall Liu (NFL); 2019 – Joe Horrigan (Pro Football Hall of Fame); 2020 – Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts); 2021 – Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills); 2022 – Michael Signora (NFL); 2023 – Ron Rivera (Washington Commanders); 2024 – Les Snead (Los Angeles Rams); 2025 – Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota Vikings)
