Former Vikings Head Coach Kicking the Tires on Broncos Job
The guy who coached the Minnesota Vikings from 2014 to 2021 is considering unretirement. He’s Mike Zimmer, and with a little luck, he could join Sean Payton’s staff in Denver.
Zimmer’s retirement may be over, and Denver’s strong defensive core could make the fit logical.
Zimmer and Payton have ties from the Dallas Cowboys days in the 2000s. The relationship could be rekindled in 2026.
Denver’s Defense Offers Zimmer a Ready-Made Canvas
Zimmer pops back up for air.
Report: Broncos Could Add Zimmer
Most believe that when Zimmer retired last offseason following a failed stint with the Cowboys, he meant it. Not so fast.
NBC Sports‘ Josh Alper reported Tuesday, “Sean Payton and Mike Zimmer were colleagues on the Cowboys’ coaching staff more than 20 years ago and they could work together again in Denver. Mike Klis of KUSA reports that the Broncos recently met with Zimmer about a senior coaching assistant position on Payton’s staff. There’s no imminent announcement of an agreement, but there is reportedly mutual interest in making something happen.”
“Zimmer was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator when Payton was their assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach from 2003-2005. Payton moved on to become the Saints’ head coach in 2006 and Zimmer would become the Vikings’ head coach in 2014 after stints in Atlanta and Cincinnati.”
For those immediately curious, the Vikings play the Broncos again in 2027.
More Expertise to an Already Sweet Defense
Denver’s defense ranked fifth in DVOA and eighth in the NFL last season per EPA/Play. If hired in some capacity for Payton’s defense, Zimmer will not take over an ailing unit. He’d start from a position of strength.
Among players he’d inherit, the list looks like this:
- Zach Allen (DT)
- Jahdae Barron (CB)
- Nik Bonitto (EDGE)
- Jonathan Cooper (EDGE)
- Jonah Elliss (EDGE)
- Drew Greenlaw (S)
- Talanoa Hufanga (S)
- Brandon Jones (S)
- Ja’Quan McMillan (CB)
- Pat Surtain II (CB)
The team could also rather easily re-sign cornerback Ja’Quan McMillan, a restricted free agent, who performed marvelously in 2025.
That defensive core would instantly restore shine to Zimmer’s reputation. It’s too good to fail.
SI.com‘s Chad Jensen on the Zimmer-DEN development: “The Broncos fielded one of the NFL’s best defenses in back-to-back seasons, leading the league in sacks over that span. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has done an excellent job, and he’ll be returning in 2026 after all the head-coaching vacancies dried up.”
“The Broncos lost their defensive-coordinator-in-waiting when Jim Leonhard was hired by the Buffalo Bills last month. Zimmer is getting up there in age, but if he’s hired as a senior assistant, it makes me wonder whether he’ll be the fail-safe in the event that Joseph finally gets a second bite at the head-coaching apple following the 2026 season.”
Zimmer took the year off in 2025, claiming retirement.
Jensen added, “Then again, Zimmer will be 70 years old by then. But if he still wants to coach, he’d probably rather be the top defensive guy than an assistant, in a perfect world.”
Zimmer’s MIN Tenure
Zimmer coached the Vikings for eight seasons (2014-2021), amassing a 72–56–1 record that ranked tenth-best in the NFL during that span. Zimmer’s teams were known for their tough defense and strong running game, and they reached the playoffs three times, including an NFC Championship appearance in 2017.
However, after the team’s performance declined in 2020 and 2021, both Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman were dismissed following the 2021 campaign. This paved the way for Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who, since taking over in 2022, have led the Vikings to the fifth-best record in the NFL. Minnesota later fired Adofo-Mensah — about four weeks ago — so most consider O’Connell as the de facto team CEO.
After consulting for college teams for a couple of seasons, Zimmer became the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator in 2024. The experiment lasted one year, and everyone was fired.
An Unholy Alliance from Vikings Fans’ Standpoint
Vikings fans don’t much care about Zimmer any longer — positively or negatively — but the possibility of him joining Payton, who remains a foremost Vikings nemesis, will irk the masses. Payton coached during the infamous Bounty Program in 2009, which targeted and concussed Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC Championship, an unethical endeavor that resulted in Payton’s year-long suspension in 2012.
Payton has also mocked the Vikings’ skol chant in the past and even claimed in 2024 that he personally baited Minnesota into drafting quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
The guy always has something up his sleeve for the Vikings as an agitator, and now Zimmer could join forces with him out west.
Zimmer will turn 70 this summer.
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