According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell has been given permission to speak with other teams about a potential coaching position outside of Washington.
O’Connell, who spent the 2019 season developing a relationship with rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins as the offensive coordinator, now has an open door to leave Washington and coach somewhere else. The Redskins have been in talks with KOC about returning as the OC in Washington, but it now appears that talks are slowing down if he is starting to look elsewhere.
The other coaches that the Redskins were considering for their OC position were former Carolina Panthers’ OC Scott Turner and former New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur.
The report from Rapoport doesn’t specifically mean that KOC will not be the OC for the Redskins in 2020, but it is starting to seem less likely, given the extended nature of the interview that preluded this report. If O’Connell — who was searching for control over the offense that he didn’t have under Jay Gruden or Bruce Allen — was satisfied with his future role in Washington, he likely would have taken the job by now.
We will see what ends up happening, but O’Connell’s time in Washington might be coming to an end.
