Mike Zimmer Takes “Hot Seat” Chatter like a Cool Customer
If Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is in his final weeks as skipper or on any real hot seat, he sure isn’t fazed by it.
Minnesota is 7-7 through 15 weeks of football, possessing the seventh seed in the NFC playoffs. If the postseason started today, the Vikings would be road warriors in Dallas against the Cowboys in the wildcard round.
But the line separating the Vikings from the playoffs and mock-draft season is paper-thin, evidenced by Minnesota’s 29% playoff probability as of December 22nd. Yes, Zimmer’s gang is temporarily in the playoffs and controls its fate – but now the Vikings play the Rams, Packers, and Bears. Conventional logic suggests they’ll lose at least one of those games – probably against the Rams or Packers – so Minnesota might have to rely on the Saints, Eagles, and Washington Football team losing some games. That isn’t ideal for a coach on the hot seat.
On Wednesday, a reporter asked Zimmer (and about that of his NFC North counterpart, Matt Nagy) about the hot seat status. However, Zimmer quickly interrupted, feigning surprise at the notion of hot seat chatter.
He even threw in a smirk for good measure.
Zimmer could’ve snapped or responded cynically – he’s done the latter it before – but this time he replied like a cool customer. Unless Zimmer has assurances from the Vikings leadership that he is “safe,” the 65-year-old has to know his employment will be adjudicated based on the 2021 Vikings final 1-2 months. He doesn’t have a Steelers-like lifetime contract, especially after missing out on the postseason in 2020 when expectations for the franchise were sky-high.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”928533″ player=”26279″ title=”4%20ideal%20Jimmy%20Garoppolo%20trade%20scenarios%20this%20offseason” duration=”83″ description=”Jimmy Garoppolo is playing some spledid football and has his San Francisco 49ers as one of the hottest teams in the NFL heading into the stretch run.That wasn’t always the case. Earlier this season, people were calling for San Francisco to bench Garoppolo in favor of rookie No. 3 pick Trey Lance. That now seems like a distant memory.Even then, it remains highly unlikely that Garoppolo will return to the 49ers for the 2022 season. They exhausted three first-round picks and a third rounder to nab Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft. Short of a Super Bowl run, he will likely be calling another NFL city home next season. Here, we look at four ideal trade scenarios.” uploaddate=”2021-12-22″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/snapshot/928501.png” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/928501/928501.m3u8″]
Since Zimmer took over the team in 2014, the Vikings are 71-54-1 (.567), ranking ninth in the NFL for win percentage in the timeframe. Plainly speaking, Minnesota is the league’s ninth-best team while Zimmer coaches it. Yet, the Zimmer Vikings only reached the playoffs thrice in seven seasons, with this campaign teetering on a certifiable maybe. When a roster holds talent like Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, Kirk Cousins, Harrison Smith, Eric Kendricks, and [usually] Danielle Hunter, the bar is raised to a) Reach the playoffs b) Contend for a Super Bowl.
Until a sloppy win over the Bears in Week 15, the Vikings weren’t on track for either of those criteria. And that’s why Zimmer’s job security is suspect.
He’s taking it with a grain of salt, though. Perhaps he has the utmost confidence in his men to deliver in the NFL’s final three weeks, owning a mindset that the postseason will be a different story.
For that to occur, the Vikings offense and defense finally need to align at the right time. Throughout 2021, sometimes the offense is productive, whereas the defense melts down with the game on the line. During Monday Night Football in Chicago, the defense was firing on all cylinders while the offense was pretty anemic.
Zimmer must know the best is yet to come for the 2021 Vikings with the reaction he showed about the hot seat question. Or – maybe he’s just finding a grandfatherly jovial personality these days.
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).
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