Mike Zimmer Reflects on His Vikings Tenure: No Regrets, No Apologies
There’s a scene from The Force Awakens where Rey and Finn find themselves on the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo’s ship. While getting to know each other, Han tells Rey and Finn, “It’s true. The Force, the Jedi, all of it. It’s true.” All of the stories and rumors that Rey and Finn had ever heard about the galaxy beyond which they were familiar were confirmed.
On Saturday, Mark Craig from The Star Tribune gave Vikings fans a similar confirmation regarding their old head coach. Mike Zimmer, Minnesota’s no-nonsense coach from 2014-2021, spoke publicly about his tenure with the Vikings for the first time since being fired in January 2022. Zimmer confirmed almost every suspicion that Vikings fans have had since his firing, and he doesn’t seem to care what you think about it.
Zimmer admitted to not speaking to the team after being fired. “They asked me if I wanted to address the team,” he said. “And I said, ‘Hell, no. They got me fired!'”
He said he left the building when then-general manager Rick Spielman selected quarterback Kellen Mond in the third round. Zimmer also admitted to giving a speech about how much adversity he had been put through, calling out former special teams ace Kris Boyd, cutting ties with long-time player and friend Terance Newman, buying out a horse that he co-owned with Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen, and spoke about how the team couldn’t keep its defense together after paying Kirk Cousins.
“Unfortunately, I hold grudges,” Zimmer said. “That’s just how I am.”
There’s no reason to get into each of these incidents and dissect them. But the interview officially put a bow on the Zimmer Era. Things had grown toxic inside the building to the point the head coach couldn’t speak with the GM. He shoved Cousins after the quarterback led a game-winning drive that potentially saved Zimmer from being fired the next day.
When the coach can’t get along with the guy constructing the roster and the most important player on the team, it’s time to move on. Zimmer turned the defense around and had good units through 2019. But he wasn’t able to adapt when Xavier Rhodes, Linval Joseph, and Trae Waynes left. Over his last two seasons, the defensive-minded head coach’s team was carried by its offense.
Zimmer didn’t endear himself to fans at the end, either. When asked if he would consider starting Mond in their Week 18 game against the Bears, a meaningless game after being eliminated from the playoffs, Zimmer replied, “Not particularly…I see him every day.”
At one point during that game against the Bears, Justin Jefferson sat 16 yards shy of Randy Moss’ single-season team record for receiving yards. Zimmer didn’t give a mandate to get him the ball. After the game, he confirmed that he was aware of how close Jefferson was to the record. “I don’t care about records,” Zimmer said. “All I care about is wins.”
Some fans believe that Kevin O’Connell is too easy on the team now. He is 39 and an offensive-minded coach in a league that is way different than the one that Zimmer grew up in. There’s no singular way to coach a team, but with how the Zimmer Era ended, O’Connell may have been the perfect hire at the perfect time for the Minnesota Vikings.
However ugly it got at the end, don’t let it distract from the fact that Zimmer was a very good head coach throughout his tenure with the Vikings. He compiled a record of 72-56-1 over eight seasons, leading the team to three playoff appearances and a spot in the NFC Championship following the 2017 season.
But by 2021, it was time for the team to move on. And for whatever it’s worth, it doesn’t sound like Zimmer would change anything he did during his tenure. It’s the reason that fans fell in love with him. And it’s the reason fans were ready to move on from him.
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