Mike Zimmer has remained the subject of criticism for all-comers hell-bent on taking their parting shot at a coaching tenure that spanned eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
Whether it’s deserved or not is up for interpretation. But what it means to the organization as a whole, particularly one that’s in a win-now mode, runs much deeper.
The Vikings are a team testing the very definition of insanity, which is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Most of their roster remains intact from a season ago, outside of a couple of major additions, like outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith and rookie safety first-round draft pick Lewis Cine.
But for the most part, they are running it back with the thinking that former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell replacing Zimmer as the head coach will give them the desired results of Super Bowl contention.
Zimmer being dubbed the villain of the story sure beats the alternative of the Vikings looking in the mirror and coming to grips with the possibility that the roster doesn’t work. Granted, they might have to do that anyways if O’Connell fails to get the team back into the playoffs.
For now, however, they’ll just stick with Plan A: Building on what’s already there instead of calling in the wrecking crew and starting anew.
But that’s only possible if Zimmer is the villain. It only works if his hard-nosed coaching style is to blame for all of the problems in Minnesota.
Star linebacker Eric Kendricks called the Vikings a fear-based culture under the former head coach’s watch. Cornerback Kris Boyd called out Zimmer’s coaching staff for being too strict and acting like the “world ended” whenever a mistake was made. And former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber reaffirmed the belief that the former coach never liked quarterback Kirk Cousins.
So much has come out in the aftermath of Zimmer’s run with the Vikings, and he has yet to address any of it. His silence has been deafening.
But there’s also the possibility that he’s made peace with being perceived as the villain.
What good could really come from arguing otherwise? It would be his word against multiple Vikings players that have already opened up about a looser, more player-friendly atmosphere under O’Connell. Besides, it’s no secret that Zimmer ruled with an iron fist.
This is the same coach that opted to kneel down at the end of the Vikings’ Week 18 finale against the Chicago Bears, completely aware of the fact that wideout Justin Jefferson just needed 16 more receiving yards to surpass Randy Moss’ single-season record.
It’s also the same coach that said he wasn’t interested in seeing backup quarterback Kellen Mond get playing time on the field.
Loose and player-friendly have never been words used to describe Zimmer as a coach. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and there have been plenty of coaches with the same mentality that have gone on to lead teams to Super Bowls.
Maybe, just maybe, silence is Zimmer’s answer after all.
If the Vikings fail to get over the hump with him gone, he could come out looking like a winner in all of this. That would then lead to an argument that the struggles were more due to him being tethered to a roster that lacked the personnel to get the job done on the field.
Once a hero and now the villain, Zimmer is intently listening somewhere out there with hope that the team’s failure could ultimately lead to his exoneration.
