Kevin O'Connell enters his first year as offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams after being hired by the team on Jan. 16, 2020.
O'Connell joins the Rams after spending three seasons with the Washington Redskins, most recently serving as Washington's offensive coordinator in 2019. He previously was the team's passing game coordinator in 2018 and quarterbacks coach in 2017.
In 2019, O'Connell spent time developing rookie QB Dwayne Haskins, who was named the team's starter ahead of a Week 11 contest against the New York Jets. In Haskins' six games after being named the starter, he threw for 1,081 yards and seven touchdown passes. His passing output from Weeks 11-17 was second only to Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, who attempted 23 more passing attempts than Haskins in that time frame.
The 2018 season saw O'Connell work with five different quarterbacks while serving as Washington's passing game coordinator. O'Connell was instrumental in preparing the four quarterbacks who started a game in 2018, which was the most in franchise history in the Super Bowl era.
O'Connell worked closely with QB Alex Smith in the beginning of the 2018 season before Smith suffered a season-ending injury. Through nine games, Smith totaled 2,180 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and led Washington to a 6-3 record before missing the rest of the season. O'Connell helped implement elements of the run-pass option at the beginning of the 2018 season. Through Week 11 of the 2018 season, Smith ranked tenth among quarterbacks in rushing yards. He also ranked fourth in interception percentage, throwing just five interceptions out of 328 attempts.
The Carlsbad, Calif. native spent the remainder of the 2018 season working with three different starting quarterbacks. The stretch included using the run-pass option offense with QB Josh Johnson, who ended the season with 590 passing yards and 120 rushing yards on 23 attempts.
In his first season in Washington in 2017, O'Connell helped QB Kirk Cousins complete 347-of-540 passes for 4,093 yards with 27 touchdowns. Cousins completed just the fifth 4,000-yard passing season in team history. He also became the first player in team history and the 11th player in NFL history to record a streak of at least three consecutive 4,000-yard passing seasons, joining a list that includes Hall of Famers, Peyton Manning, Dan Fouts and Dan Marino.
O'Connell joined Washington after spending the 2016 season overseeing special projects for the San Francisco 49ers. In 2015, O'Connell served as the quarterbacks coach for the Cleveland Browns, working closely with QB Josh McCown. Under O'Connell's guidance, McCown became the first player in Browns franchise history to throw for 300-or-more yards in three consecutive games. While working with O'Connell, McCown also set a career high and Browns single-game record with 457 passing yards in a game at Baltimore.
O'Connell was a third-round pick (94th overall) by the New England Patriots in the 2008 NFL Draft. His playing career included stints with the Lions, Jets, Dolphins and Chargers over the course of a five-year career (2008-12).
A four-year team captain at San Diego State (2004-07), O'Connell appeared in 40 games and finished his collegiate career ranked third in school history in completions (664), fourth in passing yards (7,689) and fifth in passing touchdowns (46). He also finished his career holding school records for career rushing yards by a quarterback (1,312), career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (19) and single-season rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (11). In 2007, O'Connell became the first player in school history to lead the team in both passing yards (3,063) and rushing yards (408) in the same season. He earned his bachelor's degree in political science from San Diego State in 2007.
Born in Knoxville, Tenn., O'Connell attended La Costa Canyon HS in Carlsbad, Calif. He and his wife, Leah, have two sons, Kaden and Kolten, and a daughter, Quinn.
