What Mike Zimmer Means to the Vikings Franchise
In January of 2014, Mike Zimmer earned his first head coaching opportunity when the Minnesota Vikings hired him to replace Leslie Frazier becoming just the ninth head coach in franchise history. It was obvious that ownership and front office were looking for a coach who’s resume included a lot of football experience, knowledge, and a strong passion for the game. This opportunity was a long time coming for Zimmer as he had over twenty years of coaching experience in the NFL. However, he never received many head coaching considerations mostly due to the fact that he isn’t afraid to speak his mind under any circumstances and that he may even appear to be a little awkward.
Although being labeled as a career coordinator, Zimmer immediately began to make major changes to the Vikings organization and there seemed to be a lot of excitement coming from the Vikings fanbase. Now, as his fourth season with the team has concluded, Zimmer, the defensive guru along with his no-nonsense attitude, has elevated this team to amazing heights. He has primed his team to compete for the Lombardi Trophy for years to come. Unlike many other teams in the league, there is no one to two year window. For fans, it’s easy to makes similar comparisons of Zimmer to Bud Grant and Denny Green. I can’t speak for all Vikings fans, but I emotionally attached to this football team and have become extremely fond of Zimmer during these last four seasons as our head coach. There is no other person I would want to lead our team to its first Super Bowl Victory.
One of Zimmer’s first changes to the team included the team attitude and atmosphere in the locker room. In his introductory press conference, he stated that he wanted to create a smart, tough, physical, and technically sound football team. These virtues immediately started to become a focal point of Zimmer’s daily coaching routine. Through this, he has been able to create a special atmosphere to the team. During the 2017 season, multiple players and coaches have confirmed this statement when they came out and said that this locker room and team were the best that they had ever been a part of. As fans, you know that this is special when you can see it shine through the way the team plays and the way each player interacts with one another. Team chemistry is off the charts and players have bought into Zimmer’s philosophies while also being unselfish. The only thing they have on their minds in winning and it doesn’t matter how they accomplish that. Zimmer would run through a brick wall for his players and his players would do the same for him. This cannot be exemplified more by the fact that Zimmer stated in an ESPN interview that he had come to terms with going blind in his eye during the 2016 season because all he cared about was continuing to be with the team. Being the head coach of the Vikings and continuing to work towards their goal of a Super Bowl victory was more important to him than his overall well-being. He justified this by saying the Minnesota Vikings fans deserve to it. This just about brought a tear to my eye when I saw this interview.
Zimmer not only changed the attitude of his team, but he can also flat out coach too. Despite being a defensive minded coach, the defense under Frazier’s tenure consistently ranked in the bottom half of the league in various defensive statistics. We knew that Zimmer was going to focus mainly on the defense while he could hire a coordinator to run the offense. Every year since his first, the Vikings’ defense has continued to improve in all aspect of the game until becoming the number one ranked defense in the NFL for the 2017 season. Zimmer’s ability to develop players while allowing them to reach their maximum potential while on the field is his greatest strength as a defensive mind. He has been able to maximize the potential of already established players on the roster such as Everson Griffen, Harrison Smith, and Xaiver Rhodes. In addition, he has been successful in the drafting and development of many talented players. Players such as Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Trae Waynes, and Mackenzie Alexander have continuously improved to become key cogs in Zimmer’s defensive scheme. It also says a lot when players continually follow Zimmer from team to team such Terrace Newman.
Not only has Zimmer improved the play of his team, he has also improved as a head coach every single year. There were aspects of his coaching in which he lacked at. Time management, being too blunt with some players, and even neglecting the offensive side of the ball all come to mind. After any loss, Zimmer doesn’t make excuses during his post-game press conferences. Instead, he puts the blame on himself and explains what he could’ve done better. As a true leader, he can identify these things he needs to improve on while taking constructive criticism from players and other coaching staff placing his team in the best position possible to succeed.
Overall, Zimmer has posted a record of 39-25 including two NFC North titles and an appearance in the NFC Championship game. While this is impressive on its own merit, Zimmer has been able to accomplish this while facing arguable the most adversity of any head coach. Adrian Peterson’s suspension, Blair Walsh’s missed kick in the 2015 wildcard game, Teddy Bridgewater’s potentially career threatening injury, a historic amount of injuries derailing the 5-0 start in 2016, Norv Turner sudden resignation, Sam Bradford’s knee injury, Dalvin Cook’s torn ACL, and a torn retina that has required up to eight eye surgeries in order to correct have all plagued Zimmer’s time with the Vikings. Zimmer has earned himself the position of head coach until the day that he no longer desires to be head coach of the Vikings. He has and will continued to give every ounce of his being towards this team and its fanbase. He is the best thing to happen to this franchise in over a decade. Because of this, as fans, we should continue to trust, support, and believe in Mike Zimmer.