One week later, no news on a Kevin O'Connell extension

The first order of offseason business for the Vikings and coach Kevin O'Connell is, or at least should be, working out a long-term contract. One week into the Minnesota offseason, there has been no specific news regarding a possible new deal.

Time is of the essence, especially if O'Connell is content to finish his four-year contract and become a free agent after the 2025 season.

If O'Connell will decline whatever he's offered and embrace lame-duck status, the Vikings will face the prospect of seeing him walk away after the coming season without compensation. If an impasse is reached sooner than later, the Vikings can explore the possibility of trading O'Connell.

The Week 18 Sunday Splash! report from Fox's Jay Glazer wasn't a swing and a miss. Multiple teams were, as of January 5, genuinely interested in trading for O'Connell. As hires are made, however, potential destinations for O'Connell will evaporate.

Although a trade to the Bears would have been highly unlikely, other seats are still open. One could be filled as soon as today, if the Jets hire Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

That would leave the Saints, Jaguars, Raiders, and Cowboys.

From O'Connell's perspective, there's no urgency — if he's truly willing to let it ride.

If there was tension in the relationship before Week 18 (and there was), the question becomes whether and to what extent Glazer's report complicates the situation. The Vikings, who went from 14-2 to 0-2 in the eight days after the report emerged, might not be happy that the report surfaced. O'Connell, who was compelled to finish his third year (and become the first coach in team history to win 13 games in multiple seasons), will want even more than he should have/would have wanted a year ago, especially if the Bears are indeed paying Ben Johnson $13 million per year.

The challenge for O'Connell will be projecting the jobs that might be open in 2025. Possibilities include (and we're looking at the situation very broadly for these purposes), the Dolphins, the Steelers, the Browns, the Bengals, the Colts, the Titans, the Giants, the Buccaneers, the Panthers, the Cardinals, and (if 2025 goes as poorly as 2025) the 49ers.

For now, the question remains whether he and the Vikings will work out a long-term deal. If it's not to be, the sooner the Vikings know, the sooner they can entertain swapping one more season with O'Connell for whatever one of the teams currently looking for a coach might offer.