UPDATE: Mike Zimmer Reports May Be False
Josh Frey
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On Wednesday, a report began circulating that former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer would be accepting the defensive coordinator position at the University of Colorado. However, it now appears that those initial reports may be incorrect, or at least premature.
The connection made sense considering that Deion Sanders had recently taken the head coaching job after a three-year stint at HBCU Jackson State. During the 2022 season, Zimmer worked in an advisory role for Sanders.
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The two have had a longstanding relationship ever since he was the defensive backs coach for the Cowboys in 1995. Sanders joined the Cowboys during that season, and Zimmer coached him throughout his stint in Dallas through 1999.
Colorado has not announced an official hire for their defensive coordinator position, but for now, Zimmer has not accepted the position to join his pal to coach the Buffaloes.
The sentiment remains true that the former Vikings head coach would likely make a lovely fit, though. During his time in Minnesota, Vikings defenses were often vaunted as the very best in the league up until the final years of his coaching tenure.
During the 2022 season, Colorado ranked dead last the FBS in terms of points per game allowed. Their 44.5 points per game allowed ranked 131st out of 131 programs. Making matters worse, their 15.4 points per game scored ranked 127th out of 131. Needless to say, Sanders has a long mountain to climb on the way towards getting Colorado back to its glory days of the 1990s.
From 1988-1999, the Buffalos appeared in bowl games in 11 of the 12 years, including a national championship in the 1990 Orange Bowl. A far cry from the 1-11 season they had during 2022, but we’ll see if Sanders can turn to program around.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.