The much-awaited night is here. Hold your horses. It’s not Super Bowl LIX. It’s the NFL honors hosted by the legend Snoop Dogg. Everyone was waiting for the decision of the 50-member nationwide panel. And then came the time to choose the Coach of the Year. The panel voted for 5 coaches in a 10-5-3-2-1 point format. Surprise! Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell won the award for 2024, while the Lions HC Dan Campbell came a close 2nd.

With 25 first-place votes (361 points), a difference of 6 first-choice votes helped KOC win the massive achievement. Campbell got only 19 first-place votes (283 points). This took everyone by shock. The Lions defeated the Vikings twice in the regular season. In the week 7 game, they had a close 31-29 victory. But in the season-ender, it was dominance with a 31-9 victory. Yet the Lions’ HC was snubbed.

However, the Vikings HC also had an overall exceptional year with a 14-3 regular season record. It’s the second-best in the franchise’s history. The Vikes also have shown trust in his abilities, signing a multiyear extension in January last month. And this isn’t the first acknowledgment of his fantastic work this season. On January 24, he won the Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) award for the 2024 Head Coach of the Year.

Dan Campbell must be hurting. In 2023, they lost to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game. This year, they entered the playoffs as the top seed, but rookie QB Jayden Daniels led the Commanders to a crushing 45-31 victory. His coaching department has been picked apart. Now, the voting panel snubbed him for the NFL honor. These are definitely tough times for him.

Fans were angry as soon as the results came out. They didn’t expect it. And couldn’t handle it.

Fans troll the league for choosing Kevin O’Connell over Dan Campbell

One fan directly attacked the logic of choosing the one with the worse head-to-head results as coach of the year. He made a vicious attack with a tinge of sarcasm and tweeted, “So the guy who lost twice to Dan Campbell and had a worse record won coach of the year? Makes so much sense.” Another fan left a 3-word message to protest the decision and wrote, “DAN CAMPBELL ROBBED.”

It’s truly a shocker in the sense that Dan Campbell’s side defeated Kevin O’Connell’s with a record viewership for a week 18 game in NFL history. Basically, everyone saw the Lions dominate the Vikings in that high-stakes game. One fan called the entire process a sham, “Can’t even beat Dan Campbell but wins COTY. Joke.” But for some, it was heartbreaking. One such fan couldn’t handle it and vented, “Dan Campbell robbed. Shocker.”

The same theory of hatred against the Lions HC spread among the fans. Another had the same reaction and wrote, “Dan Campbell beat him twice, he was snubbed.” It’s a deflating end to a rip-roaring season for the Lions fanbase. First the completely unexpected exit at the hands of the Commanders. And now the snub for the COTY.

Once the night is over, all attention will be on Super Bowl LIX. The most interesting time of the season is here.