I think we can all agree it's not fair to view a coordinator's record the same way as we view a head coach's record but it's not insignificant that in his entire 18 year history as a defensive coordinator and head coach Zimmer's been on the winning end of just one playoff game (out of 9).Cliff wrote:I'm not saying Zimmer *can't* coach in big games but judging past stats and what I've seen with him as a Viking it's not looking good. He's certainly done well enough to keep his job (and me not complain about it) but the playoffs will make me nervous with him at the helm - at least until he proves otherwise.
Anyway, the games as head coach should carry much more weight for obvious reasons but we all know defensive coordinators play significant roles. This isn't the first time Zimmer's been running a top defense that gave up a bunch of points in the postseason. As Kapp pointed out above, offensive performance and other factors can influence those defensive performances but even though the significance of those pre-Vikings games is limited, they aren't entirely insignificant. He has essentially employed the same defensive approach over all that time so the history of Zimmer's defenses is worth examining. Maybe his defensive philosophy is effective over the course of a regular season against varying levels of competition but simply has it's limitations and gets exposed a little more against better teams in the postseason?