Neither veteran safety Harrison Smith nor head coach Kevin O’Connell can confidently trace back the origin story of their weekly coffee dates. All they know is that the standing meeting on Fridays at TCO Performance Center have become a beloved part of their busy schedule with the Vikings.
“I think he might have been jokingly telling me to stop by his office,” Smith said. “I ended up stopping in with a couple of coffees and it kind of became something we do.”
The initial conversation centered on life outside of football. They bonded over their families and their shared life experiences. Just a couple of guys obsessed with the process letting the X’s and O’s take a backseat for roughly 30 minutes or so.
“I was like, ‘This is kind of nice,’ ” O’Connell said. “He got up to leave and I was like, ‘So, same time next week?’ He came back, and it became a tradition. It’s nice to be able to spend some time with him.”
As it started to come more of a regular occurrence, Smith would stop by Caribou Coffee on his way into work, grab an Americano for each of them and make his way upstairs to see O’Connell in his office. He has recently changed the ordering system now that he has his own personal French Press.
“I’ve switched over to strictly my own brew at home,” Smith said. “I just bring the full pot and pour us a couple of cups.”
Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) reacts linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel intercepted a pass against the Washington Commanders during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
No topics are off limits.
Sometimes it will be Smith reminiscing about what it was like growing up in Knoxville, Tenn. Sometimes it will be O’Connell reminiscing about what it was like growing up in Carlsbad, Calif.
Sometimes it will be Smith talking about his career playing for the Vikings. Sometimes it will be O’Connell talking about his career bouncing around from the New England Patriots to the New York Jets and stops in between.
Sometimes it will be Smith telling stories about his wife, Madison, his daughter Eleanor, or his son Pierce. Sometimes it will be O’Connell telling stories about his wife Leah, his sons Kaden and Kolten, or his daughters Quinn and Callie.
“We came up in a similar time,” Smith said. “It’s a nice time for us being in a high stress industry and environment to have a space to talk about stuff that maybe people talk about when they’re not in the NFL.”
The fact that Smith is 36 years old and O’Connell is 40 years isn’t lost on either of them. The closeness in age has allowed them to interact as peers more than anything else. They have a mutual respect for each other that has only been strengthened over countless cups of coffee.
“It’s been great for our relationship,” Smith said. “We try not to talk too much about football. We inevitably end up getting into it, anyways. All of it is kind of intertwined in football because that’s who we are at our core.”
It’s not uncommon for O’Connell to use time together as a way to bounce ideas off of Smith. He’s found it can be beneficial to have another defensive perspective when trying to finalize an offensive game plan.
“There are times where maybe I’m on the fence about a red zone play call, something like that,” O’Connell said. “I can show him a clip and we can talk about it a little bit.”
It has also been a helpful way for O’Connell to get the pulse of the locker room. As much as he has prided himself on the culture he has helped create, O’Connell understands it hits different getting to see it through Smith’s eyes.
“I know he’s going to be honest with me,” O’Connell said. “I can ask him questions and get a good feel for how everything is going. It’s not about getting him to give up information; I use it as a way to figure out how I can be better at my job for the guys.”
As he reflected on the weekly coffee dates, Smith noted that it’s not something he would have done earlier in his career, and not necessarily because he wasn’t interested in chatting with former head coaches Leslie Frazier or Mike Zimmer.
“I’d probably be in a special teams meeting or something at that time,” Smith said. “I literally wouldn’t have the opportunity to be there. Now, I have a little bit more free time. This is a really productive way to fill it.”
It’s an escape from the grind that Smith and O’Connell both appreciate, even if neither of them are exactly sure how it came to be.
“It’s something that kind of happened organically that I’ve enjoyed very much,” Smith said. “I try not to be too late to his office, and I always make sure I have the good coffee brewed for us.”
It remains to be seen whether the weekly coffee dates continue into the future.
Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) warms up before an NFL football game against the Washington Commander, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
There’s a chance Smith could again contemplate retirement after the Vikings host the Packers on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The possibility of that has been brewing for a while.
That’s why O’Connell hasn’t taken for granted any time he’s gotten to spend with Smith.
“No matter what we talk about, I always go back to the fact that he’s an unbelievable human being,” O’Connell said. “He’s somebody that I respect so much and I really value the relationship that we’ve built.”
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