Patriots-Vikings pits Belichick vs. former player O’Connell

MINNEAPOLIS — The first regular-season game Kevin O’Connell participated in during his fleeting NFL playing career came in late-game relief for New England in a rare lopsided loss.

The Patriots had a bye the following week, and sure enough coach Bill Belichick had them ready for a bounce-back victory. Even after Tom Brady was lost for the year with a knee injury in the opener, the Patriots finished that 2008 season with an 11-5 record.

The response to the Week 3 blowout was methodical, not maniacal. The message was about controlling what was in their control and simply letting the rest of it go.

“That sticks with me to this very day, just as an example of what it’s like to coach in those moments where adversity hits and

how you need to be at your best for your team,” O’Connell said.

The first-year Minnesota Vikings coach has found himself in that very situation this week, following a 40-3 loss to Dallas. The Vikings (8-2) host the Patriots (6-4), still coached by

Belichick all these years later, on Thursday night with only four days to regroup. O’Connell, fittingly, will experience one of the biggest tests of his mettle as the boss against a coach who significantly influenced his know-how and perspective.

“I still have old notebooks with team meeting notes and things like that that are always great to go back and look through,” O’Connell said.

The first thing Belichick said this week when asked about his memory of O’Connell? That he was a “smart kid” who picked up the offense quickly.

“He’s done a heck of a job and climbed through the coaching ranks quickly,” Belichick said. “Based on the way the Vikings are playing this year, you could see why he’s done it.”

PALS FROM THE PATS

O’Connell made fast friends in 2008 with roommate Matthew Slater, a fellow member of that draft class who just so happens to still be playing for the Patriots as their long-time special teams ace. Slater was a groomsman in O’Connell’s wedding, and their wives are close with each other, too.

“I just can’t tell you how proud I am of him, to see him grow and to see him accomplish so much as a