An inside look at Harrison Smith’s weekly coffee dates with Kevin O’Connell

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 has 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 of letting the X’s and...