Mike Zimmer’s Coaching Tenure in Minnesota Was Not ‘Mediocre’
When criticizing the Mike Zimmer regime during a season in progress – or reflecting on his legacy in retrospect – the main argument is the Vikings were “mediocre” under his leadership.
This is false – unless one fundamentally twists the definition of the word mediocre to fit a narrative.
Per Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of mediocre is “not very good.”
In the last two seasons, indeed, the Vikings mired in mediocrity. Yet, evaluating Zimmer’s entire body of work with the adjective is flatly incorrect or denies the wins and losses of history. Zimmer’s Vikings were not mediocre – unless wins and losses are suddenly a faulty metric to adjudicate sports. And we’re pretty sure sports are about winning and losing.
During the Zimmer era, from 2014 to 2021, the Vikings were 72-56-1 (.562). This percentage was 10th-best leaguewide inside eight seasons. Minnesota had a better win-loss record from 2014 to 2021 than the Rams, Colts, Cardinals, and Titans. Have those four teams seemed mediocre since 2014? No. Why? Because they’re a bit better than mediocre.
The Vikings were a Top 10 franchise per wins and losses with Zimmer in charge. This irrefutable knowledge can only be ignored if one closes eyes or shut ears.
Zimmer’s problem – and it is just to criticize him for this – was his ups and downs from season to season. Until 2021, the Vikings alternated good seasons with average ones. He never strung together back-to-back successful seasons. That was maddening, and that’s why he no longer works for the Vikings.
However, in relation to his peers, Zimmer’s Vikings were better than 21 other teams in eight seasons if one analyzes the whole Zimmer product. The Vikings were habitually relevant with Zimmer at the helm, so now the 2022 team ventures into a great wide open, merely hoping the next skipper has the same juice.
This article is not to lament Zimmer’s termination. It was time. Zimmer’s defense — the best in the world per the analytics from 2014 to 2019 — died. From the start of 2020 on, Zimmer’s defense was not productive. It was leaky. Collapses in big moments were commonplace. When the defense-forever coach is no longer capable of fostering a fearsome product, yes, the time is now to move on.
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Still, Zimmer restored the organization to winning tendencies wholly lacking from 2010 to 2013. One need not shower Zimmer with kudos, but recognizing the Top 10 resume is rooted in common sense.
And, as it turns out, reporting since his termination implies he wasn’t very nice to people. Well, that’s probably why the team moved on. But his wins and losses were proof-in-pudding stuff.
Top 10 records spanning eight seasons don’t grow on trees. Remember that the next time someone claims the Vikings were “mediocre” under Zimmer. The talking point is false or skewed to fit a dialogue.
Or – if you find a sports metric that ignores wins and losses, let us know. Maybe that parameter can suggest Zimmer was mediocre – because the traditional definition isn’t applicable.
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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