A Smidgen of Chance the Vikings Are Facing Their Next Head Coach This Weekend
Dustin Baker
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Minnesota Vikings players performed wonderfully amid the last two weeks, ensuring the “Fire Mike Zimmer” chatter quieted down. Through eight games, the Vikings 3-5 record flocked fans to social media, calling for the head coach’s termination as some fans of the team consider the Zimmer Experiment stale.
But then they started beating good teams, using offensive aggression for the first time in a long while.
The strategy paid off. The Vikings defeated the Los Angeles Chargers and Green Bay Packers, two teams with sexy win-loss records. Minnesota found triumph chiefly because they remained aggressive on offense in the 2nd Half of both games. In the first nine weeks of 2021, the Vikings would score on their first drive — and then just be done. It was bizarre.
Even though the hot seat rumblings for Zimmer died down after two big wins, the discontentment could still reignite with a loss. Zimmer is in his eighth season with the Vikings, so the time for his Vikings to win is now. Missing out on the postseason would probably send Zimmer back to his ranch in Kentucky.
Then what?
Well, the Vikings ownership and perhaps general manager Rick Spielman would be coach shopping. And depending on what happens in the remainder of 2021 for the San Francisco 49ers, Kyle Shanahan could be a prime head-coaching target for the Vikings if both teams move on from their current regimes.
The Vikings and 49ers play this weekend in Santa Clara.
It’s a longshot, considering both teams would have to fire head coaches in January — but the Vikings could be facing their next head coach this Sunday.
Shanahan was born in Minneapolis, coached Kirk Cousins in Washington, and wouldn’t remain unemployed very long if the 49ers cut the man loose. In 2019, Shanahan and the 49ers reached the Super Bowl, losing to Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs in a squeaker. Outside of that though for Shanahan, the 49ers have never won more than six games in a season under his leadership. And he’s been in charge since 2017.
His working relationship with general manager John Lynch seems just fine, meaning the actuality of a Shanahan termination is slim. However, a coach can only win less than seven games per season for so long — particularly one that reached the Super Bowl so recently.
In Minnesota, with Zimmer theoretically gone, Shanahan would inherit a robust offense, packed with weaponry like Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, Irv Smith Jr., and his Washington buddy — Cousins. Very little salesmanship by the Vikings brass would be necessary to lure Shanahan to his birthplace. Assuming the Vikings don’t embark on a full structural rebuild, the Minnesota job would be highly enticing with such young offensive talent.
The losing head coach of Sunday’s game temporarily falls back into a wretched spot in the 2021 season. His team will be 5-6 and jostling with the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Philadelphia Eagles for playoff positioning. The winner, however, enters the wildcard driver’s seat at 6-5. Unforeseen by most pundits before the start of the season, the final two NFC wildcard seeds aren’t that prestigious at the moment.
A potentially lackluster finish by the 49ers this season is an item to monitor. San Francisco can only lose for so long before scripting change. In the event a change was made for the 49ers, the Vikings would likely explore Shanahan’s availability, primarily because of his ardor for Cousins.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
Also Read: Suddenly, the Vikings Are in the Playoffs
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