Kevin O'Connell, the Minnesota Vikings head coach, tells BBC Sport about the impact of the death of rookie Khyree Jackson and how he led his team through adversity to an unbeaten record.
The Minnesota Vikings had already held their off-season programme and head coach Kevin O'Connell was back home in California.
O’Connell was among five members of the Vikings staff that attended Jackson's funeral in Maryland, while the player's family attended a celebration of life in Minnesota, as well as the team's first pre-season game. The team has kept Jackson's locker at the training facility as it is. They will set up his locker at Tottenham this weekend, just as they do for every game, and players and coaches will continue to wear helmet stickers and lapel pins bearing his initials.
He also spoke to them about being "situational master" and executing when the game is on the line, and they have become used to overcoming adversity on and off the field."I think it's ingrained in the team that if there's time on the clock, we've still got a chance," said O'Connell. "So let's make sure we maximise every moment we have with one another, understanding how special a place this is, what the players have built here."'Right place, right moment' for forgotten man Darnold
"Sam's had a really unique quarterback journey," said O'Connell. "Not to touch on any one place, really all we focus on here is being right where our feet are planted and how we can help these players. "That's really how everything is farmed here," he added. "We build everything backwards from what we believe is best for a quarterback.
The 25-year-old is fourth on the all-time list for most yards in a player's first five seasons and could become the first receiver to be named MVP since 2013.
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