Every ounce of respect shown to Leslie Frazier in the moments following his dismissal from the Minnesota Vikings has been matched by the respect shown to Mike Zimmer upon his arrival.
Zimmer is a favorite among Bengal fans and observers and they let their displeasure be known when news broke he would be leaving to fill the head coaching vacancy in Minnesota. His players, current and former, showered him with complimentary quotes and soundbites across all of the various media outlets. Even his former employers have come out of the woodwork to vouch for this guy.
Widely described as man who should have been a head coach long ago, Zimmer brings Vikings fans exactly what they wanted, which is a defensive-minded coach that has a winning pedigree on his resume and a shotgun blast of a personality. While he may be just as revered as as Frazier around the NFL, Zimmer is the polar opposite when it comes to motivational tactics and sideline composure.
Zimmer has experience with a variety of defensive schemes and it will be interesting to see what he chooses to do with this roster, but it seems highly likely that the Tampa-2 scheme we have grown so used to is now a thing of the past. We will likely see a more aggressive attack from up front and, finally, an emphasis on quality play in the secondary.
His son, Adam, is an assistant defensive backs coach with the Bengals and seems like a possibility to get a promotion if he follows his father to the Land of Lakes. Some have even speculated that the younger Zimmer could be a candidate for the Defensive Coordinator position under his father’s close watch.
The more pressing matter will be the offensive coordinator position. Adam Schefter has has reported that the Vikings received permission from the Cleveland Browns to interview Norv Turner for the position. Turner, of course, is currently in limbo after Cleveland has failed to hire their new head coach after firing their previous one for no apparent reason… but I digress.
If hiring Zimmer means getting Turner as their offensive coordinator then I consider this offseason to already be on a successful course. While his head coaching years turned him into a punchline, I firmly believe there are few offensive minds in the NFL that can compare. Adrian Peterson, Cordarrelle Patterson, and [insert some quarterback here] would instantly become more likely to see major successes in the future if Turner replaces Bill Musgrave.
The Vikings have yet to announce the hire. I expect they are currently sorting through all of the assistants that are still employed, and letting them know their status with the team prior to making anything official through the media. In a lot of ways this is the right thing to do, as I’d rather learn about my demise from my boss than from a reporter with a Twitter account.
So, tomorrow’s news is likely to be a little more dour and consist of firings, but right now the future is looking bright for the Minnesota Vikings. At the very least, the fans seem to be happy for the first time in a long time.
[UPDATE: The Vikings have announced the hiring via an awkward video on their official team website. CLICK HERE to check it out.]
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all true, adam. zimmer's got a good background, and a successful history. his players and fanbase love and respect him, and he's got a lot of good football people pulling for him. what's not to like? jerry burns has got to like this guy. i'm psyched and really looking forward to, as zimmer said in his interview, a vikings team that is passionate, energetic, and smart. i think we'll be tougher, too
welcome to our new head coach, mike zimmer
That's right Cal, what's not to like. I'm hoping he lights a fire and this team responds. The defense really needs someone to hold them accountable, in a no BS kind of way. Zimmer seems like that guy.
I don't like Norv, but as you said Adam...that's probably a feeling from his head coaching stints. I know he had some great success as an OC...but that was years ago. We'll see.
I was impressed with what he did in Cleveland last year, too. Particularly the performances of Hoyer and Gordon.
And yet, the Browns won 4 games last year. Despite having a top ten defense.
I'm just not on board with Norm.
I would argue that they overachieved winning those 4 games. He had very little to work with and made the best of what he had riding Gordon and Cameron. That's one thing everyone should be excited about, he recognizes who his best players are and finds ways to get them the ball.
Anybody with a playbook bigger than a 3X5 index card has my vote.
Adam, not to sure what you meant by "Awkward" interview with Zimmer?
I really enjoyed the piece, being my first real look at the guy.
He seemed poised and he had me as soon as he mentioned hunting and fishing and the Purple People Eaters in the same sentence.
I just meant it was about 12 hours late, the cheesy setting, and Wobby used the wrong word like three times. Just nitpicking, and nothing against Zimmer (other than leaving Bud Grant out), but it was an odd choice for introducing our new coach.
It was a weird way to introduce a new HC. Where was Spielman and Zygi? I like the way he said that "he wants Vikings fans to be proud to come to a game" He showed more passion and grit in this interview than Frazier did he his whole stint as HC.
I just meant it was about 12 hours late, the cheesy setting, and Wobby used the wrong word like three times. Just nitpicking, and nothing against Zimmer (other than leaving Bud Grant out), but it was an odd choice for introducing our new coach. A regular presser would've made more sense.
Now that you mention it ,it is a strange way to introduce the guy.
wobble is arrogant. at the end he tells zim to get to work, ha, like he's his boss
Zimmer should have punched him. What a douche.
the pressors will be coming...wanna get OC and DC settled first so questions can be answered.....
Norv Turner's Wiki page has him listed as the Vikes OC.....must be true! I'm not overly impressed with what I'm seeing of George Edwards success, let's hope it was merely a personnel issue. This defense needs to find the edge that Seattle has, hopefully he's the guy. Minnesota has never had top of the league d-backs....and their 2014 success hinges significantly on a coaches ability to turn that around.
Zimmer will be officially introduced at a news conference Friday, per Chris Tomasson Pioneer Press.