Is this Zimmer's last year with the Vikings as head coach?

[Purplepain2018]

Alluding to the subject title, I was okay after last year if the Vikings let Zimmer go and they started fresh with a new coach. There is a guy out there that I would absolutely LOVE for the Vikings to hire. His name....Mike McCarthy.

I really do like Mike Zimmer. He has really done some incredible things in Minnesota, especially with the defense. There are games, however, like the one Sunday where Zimmer coached teams do not show up to play. Now I know the defense stepped up after the first quarter and shut the Packers down, but the damage was already done. If you look at the history of how the Vikings play under Zimmer there are always at least two to three games a season where they just DO NOT SHOW UP TO PLAY.

Unfortunately, for Zimmer he will tied to Cousins as he was on board for giving him all that money as a free agent to bring him in. I think if we are all honest, Cousins just cannot win a big game. I don't know what it is. Against bad teams, Cousins looks pretty good, but against good teams and playoff teams, he stinks it up. So, in two weeks when the Vikings go on the road against the Bears is it going to be a repeat of what we saw on Sunday against the Packers? Odds are, yeah Cousins is going to stink it up, AGAIN.

Now I mentioned Mike McCarthy because I really believe he is a really good coach. He has won a Super Bowl, he knows the NFC North really well and he definitely knows the Packers, our biggest rival. He is an offensive guru coach and that really is what the NFL is an offensive league. He knows how to coach quarterbacks which is definitely what the Vikings need. The Vikings need to draft a QB and then let him develop and grow in the Vikings system.

This could be Zimmer's last year as Vikings head coach.

[Boon]

In the 6 years hes been the HC of the vikings, they have the best overall record in the nfc. They mentioned that during the falcons game. I doubt hes going anywhere.

[StumpHunter]

In the 6 years hes been the HC of the vikings, they have the best overall record in the nfc. They mentioned that during the falcons game. I doubt hes going anywhere.

He doesn't deserve to be fired, but I have a sick feeling the guy who put a flawed roster together for Zim to coach will keep his job, while the guy who made the best of a flawed roster will get fired.

[Mothman]

In the 6 years hes been the HC of the vikings, they have the best overall record in the nfc. They mentioned that during the falcons game. I doubt hes going anywhere.

That's not accurate (Seattle has a better record over that time span) and since the Vikings have only won more than 8 games and made the playoffs in two of the previous 5 seasons, it's less impressive than it sounds. Another mediocre season without a playoff appearance could (and should) put his job in jeopardy. Even a wild card appearance and a quick exit from the playoffs might do it.

[Mothman]

In the 6 years hes been the HC of the vikings, they have the best overall record in the nfc. They mentioned that during the falcons game. I doubt hes going anywhere.

He doesn't deserve to be fired, but I have a sick feeling the guy who put a flawed roster together for Zim to coach will keep his job, while the guy who made the best of a flawed roster will get fired.

Zimmer was heavily involved in building those flawed rosters. If those two don't deliver soon, they should both be sent packing. They've been given a tremendous degree of support by ownership. Barring extraordinary circumstances, they need to deliver big-time this year. 6 years is plenty of time to build a serious contender.

[J. Kapp 11]

No, it's not his last season.

The OP didn't ask whether it SHOULD be his last. The question is whether it IS his last. And if I had to wager on it, I'd bet against him getting fired.

The wounds from the Green Bay game are still fresh, but this is still a VERY talented roster that has every opportunity to have a good season. This team is good enough to win 10 games or more. Super Bowl? Who knows? Given our history since 1977, I'd never bet on us even appearing in the Super Bowl. But that's not the question. The question is whether this is Zimmer's last season.

The answer ... I believe ... is no.

I would suggest we revisit this post in January and see.

[PacificNorseWest]

Zimmer is probably safe for another year if Spielman is around. If Spielman gets canned, I would be less certain.

[StumpHunter]

He doesn't deserve to be fired, but I have a sick feeling the guy who put a flawed roster together for Zim to coach will keep his job, while the guy who made the best of a flawed roster will get fired.

Zimmer was heavily involved in building those flawed rosters. If those two don't deliver soon, they should both be sent packing. They've been given a tremendous degree of support by ownership. Barring extraordinary circumstances, they need to deliver big-time this year. 6 years is plenty of time to build a serious contender.

I am sure he was. Who do you think had the most input on the oline, qb and kicker?

[Mothman]

Zimmer was heavily involved in building those flawed rosters. If those two don't deliver soon, they should both be sent packing. They've been given a tremendous degree of support by ownership. Barring extraordinary circumstances, they need to deliver big-time this year. 6 years is plenty of time to build a serious contender.

I am sure he was. Who do you think had the most input on the oline, qb and kicker?

I honestly don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say Spielman but Zimmer has certainly seemed on board with the choices, especially at QB. I think the emphasis on defensive personnel over the years, even with glaring weaknesses on the OL, probably speaks as much to Zimmer's input as the actual players chosen at the positions you mentioned.

In the end, I don't think it matters who specifically had the most input at what position. This is clearly a team Spielman and Zimmer have assembled together over the past 5.5 years.

[StumpHunter]

I am sure he was. Who do you think had the most input on the oline, qb and kicker?

I honestly don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say Spielman but Zimmer has certainly seemed on board with the choices, especially at QB. I think the emphasis on defensive personnel over the years, even with glaring weaknesses on the OL, probably speaks as much to Zimmer's input as the actual players chosen at the positions you mentioned.

In the end, I don't think it matters who specifically had the most input at what position. This is clearly a team Spielman and Zimmer have assembled together over the past 5.5 years.

I agree. I also think the teams Spielman was putting together were flawed at Oline, kicker and QB before Zimmer got here AND were significantly worse everywhere else as well.


There needs to be a change and it will likely be at HC, but if he goes it is almost a lock the defense gets worse, and we will still have issues at QB, on the line and at kicker.

[mansquatch]

I listen Judd Zulugad a fair amount. Well listen probably isn't the best term to use, I more "suffer through" his show at times to get Vikings news.

Zulugad has this narrative that I think he has created in his own mind that in summation is the idea that the Vikings offense and Cousins in particular cannot get any better than what we saw on Sunday. If you watched the Rams v Vikings game last year you know this is nothing short of absurd, but yet Zulugad's view seems to be COMMON opinion amongst the media and fans alike.

My take remains the same: That game was Cousin's worse as a Viking. However, we've all seen him (assuming we watch the games...) play a lot better than last sunday. So if you are to accept the Zulugad hypothesis then you must have some reason to believe that Cousins can't regain the positives in his game that we have seen in the past. (on Sunday he missed throws he normally makes look routine) I've yet to hear someone make a compelling case about this.

So what does this have to do with the OP? Well, I think the above view, whether people know it or not, is fueling all the pitch fork mob styled rants we are seeing. IMO, the ship will get right by the end of the season barring a major injury. Look at the turnaround they've already engineered in the running game. Why has everyone given up on the ability of this offensive coaching staff to fix and improve things over the course of the season?

I strongly doubt Zimmer is going anywhere and I'm happy for it.

[Dmizzle0]

After every bad loss a post like this gets bumped, can we at least wait a few more games?

[CharVike]

In the 6 years hes been the HC of the vikings, they have the best overall record in the nfc. They mentioned that during the falcons game. I doubt hes going anywhere.

I'm not looking it up but that outlier 13-3 is what gives him that. That was the year I thought we would win it all. Especially when it took a miracle to win a home playoff game. It was a gift. We even had a backup at QB. But then we didn't even show up for the champ game. That said it all. He couldn't get the team to play. That tells us all something. Did they mention that blowout during the game. Even before that champ game nobody was talking about us. It was almost as if we didn't belong there. And we didn't.

[StumpHunter]

My take remains the same: That game was Cousin's worse as a Viking. However, we've all seen him (assuming we watch the games...) play a lot better than last sunday. So if you are to accept the Zulugad hypothesis then you must have some reason to believe that Cousins can't regain the positives in his game that we have seen in the past. (on Sunday he missed throws he normally makes look routine) I've yet to hear someone make a compelling case about this.

It was certainly one of his worst and he has had significantly better, mostly against bad teams.

I expect him to have a great game against the Raiders Sunday, another bad game the following week against the Bears, and for that pattern to continue as long as Kirk is a Viking.

[Mothman]

I agree. I also think the teams Spielman was putting together were flawed at Oline, kicker and QB before Zimmer got here AND were significantly worse everywhere else as well.

There needs to be a change and it will likely be at HC, but if he goes it is almost a lock the defense gets worse, and we will still have issues at QB, on the line and at kicker.

... or they'll be solved by a new coach and GM. There's certainly not much reason to think they'll be solved under Zimmer and I don't care if the defense gets worse without him if the team gets better. Zimmer's far from the only coach out there capable of putting a good defense on the field and the goal is to win the Super Bowl, not to feel good about having a statistically well-ranked defense. Maybe Zimmer's Vikes will do both this season but if we see more mediocrity, the Vikes should consider pulling the plug and moving the team in a different direction. Personally, I would have done it after last season.