Football coaches tend to be optimists. At least, the employed ones are. They're fixers. They're confident because without confidence they couldn't function. The good ones believe that they can take their players and defeat your players, and take yours and defeat theirs.
When Kevin O'Connell conducts his introductory news conference this week as the new coach of the Vikings, he likely will express confidence that he can win with the Vikings' current roster.
Could that be true?
Let's take a look at O'Connell's experience with the Los Angeles Rams as they won the Super Bowl this season, and the similarities he might find in Minnesota:
Quarterback: Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins aren't all that similar. Stafford is more athletic and creative. Cousins is more cautious and efficient.
Here's where they are similar: Before joining the Rams, Stafford had never won a playoff game. In his first 10 seasons, Cousins has won one.
This past season, the Vikings had a pretty good offense and a terrible defense, and yet the team hired a young offensive coach from the staff of an offensive guru, instead of the defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris, whose unit stood out the most in the Super Bowl.
Clearly, the Vikings are looking for offensive answers. O'Connell's answer during interviews may well have been that he can win with Cousins, just as his bosses in L.A. were eager to make the illogical leap that a quarterback with no postseason success could win a Super Bowl.