Mike Zimmer’s eight-year run with the Minnesota Vikings didn’t go as planned. His squad went 72-56-1 in the regular season but never won a Super Bowl, and their two playoff wins (out of five appearances) both came against the New Orleans Saints. Now he’s a 65-year-old free agent with an uncertain NFL future.
And Saints head coach Sean Payton would be wise to try and recruit him for New Orleans. Zimmer is an outstanding defensive coach, having built some of the most effective units in recent memory. His defenses never ranked lower than 14th in yards or 11th in points allowed from 2014 to 2019, only trailing off the last two years after injuries, age, and poor drafting eroded the depth chart. They had more finishes inside the top six in each category than outside of it during that span.
