The Minnesota Vikings are 6-0, which makes them the last undefeated team in the National Football League this season. That said, the wins haven’t always been pretty.

Minnesota has been carried by a dominant defense led by Brian Flores, while Kevin O’Connell’s offense has struggled to keep up.

Despite the overall results being so overwhelmingly positive, the ever-theatrical Stephen A. Smith has a problem with the man in charge.

Stephen A. Smith questions MN Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell

Stephen A. Smith (ESPN) is nothing if not dramatic. It’s what has earned him the gaudy paychecks and continued to make him one of the most polarizing figures in the sports world. His latest suggestion is that the coach of the league’s only 6-0 team is lucky to even have a job.

“I am not going to refrain from bringing up this about Kevin O’Connell. Let’s be very, very clear. Kevin O’Connell may be a big time coach in the National Football League because he’s widely respected, quarterback whisperer and all of this other stuff. He’s lucky he’s got a damn job. Mensah, the GM, was fired after last season. What happened? Because you let Sam Darnold walk out the door and you handed the reins to J.J. McCarthy. Who, in fairness to J.J. McCarthy, hadn’t even thrown an NFL pass… You cost Justin Jefferson and those boys a year of their career. That’s what you did, okay. So the GM took the heat, but dammit I’m looking at the head coach too. You know what? You had Sam Darnold there, you had J.J. McCarthy there, now you got Kyler Murray there, and we’re still saying quarterback, quarterback, quarterback is the issue. So I’m looking at Kevin O’Connell and I’m saying to myself, where’s the boy wonder at? Where’s the guy that’s supposed to elevate your level of play from the quarterback spot.”

There is a whole boatload to unpack here. First and foremost, the suggestion that a coach who owns a 49-25 regular-season record while working with nine different starting quarterbacks over parts of five seasons is lucky to have a job is flat-out ludicrous. O’Connell has done more with less during his time leading the Minnesota Vikings.

Secondly, the quarterback decisions Smith is pointing to weren’t O’Connell’s alone. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was the general manager when the Vikings drafted McCarthy, after Minnesota explored a trade up for Drake Maye. The Vikings also could have used the franchise tag on Sam Darnold and explored a trade, but instead let him leave in free agency.

The Vikings also brought in Kyler Murray on a $1.3 million deal this offseason, and he’s helped them get off to a 6-0 start. It’s fair to suggest, though, that O’Connell needs to do a better job tailoring the offense to Murray’s strengths.

Taylor suggestion spot on for Vikings

Although Smith swung and missed with his O’Connell suggestion, he’s spot on in identifying Jonathan Taylor as the exact sort of difference-making running back the team needs. The Vikings have been linked to Taylor, and the fit could not be better if Indianapolis is willing to trade him.

“You have a question about your quarterback spot. So basically, since you can’t go out there and just find a quarterback, what you can do is insulate them by making sure you have an elite running game. A bonafide threat. Which, by the way, could free up Kyler Murray to do some things. So we gotta look at it from that standpoint. I would say that’s the move to make.”

The Vikings’ struggles at quarterback aren’t entirely on Kyler Murray, either. Kevin O’Connell’s playcalling has left plenty to be desired, and leaning more into the strengths of his elite athlete could generate more offense. We saw that bear fruit against the New Orleans Saints.

Murray is completing 66.4% of his passes, has rushed for 132 yards and has thrown just two interceptions. The passing game has been limited, though, with Murray averaging just 6.5 yards per attempt and throwing only three touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor is an elite running back, and Taylor’s addition would have pushed everyone down the depth chart even with a healthy Aaron Jones. With Jones continuing to deal with a knee injury, Taylor would give O’Connell another proven weapon to lean on.

The Vikings absolutely need to figure out their offense. That might mean O’Connell delegating more to Wes Phillips, whom he hired as offensive coordinator for a reason. But suggesting O’Connell himself is lucky to have a job is ridiculous.