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Former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer preparing to return to coaching
“I love the challenge of trying to make an organization better.”
JONATHAN HARRISONDEC 27, 2023 3:51 PM EST
Former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has kept a low profile since his firing in January of 2022, only briefly popping up as an analyst/consultant for Deion Sanders’ Jackson State team later that year. For the first time since his departure from Minnesota, Zimmer spoke publicly, saying he’s been busy “watching tape and studying analytics.”
In an appearance Tuesday on the NFL+ show The Insider’s (subscription required), Zimmer talked with Tom Pelissero about his time away from football and his thoughts on what’s happened since he last was in the NFL.
“Well, I’ve got about 270 acres in Kentucky so that keeps me a little bit busy,” Zimmer said when asked what he’s been up to since he last coached in the league. “But I built a little office building that I go over there, watch a tape and study analytics and all the different things that you got to do. So, just staying on top of the game.”
The 67-year-old went 72-46-1 as the Vikings’ head coach from 2014-21, including three playoff appearances and two NFC North titles. A defensive-minded head coach, Zimmer’s Vikings boasted top-10 defenses in five of the eight years he was in charge.
Jan 9, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer waves to the crowd after the game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“I get a lot of the game tapes. I go through a lot of the third and fourth situations, a lot of the red zone. All the little game management things you try to do,” Zimmer said. “The other things to do is look at what you’ve done good over the last eight years. What you could have done better. Things you could have changed or done differently over the course of the time.”
After moving on from Zimmer, the Vikings brought in Kevin O’Connell as the team’s 10th head coach. O’Connell led the Vikings to a 13-4 record his first season and has the Vikings sitting at 7-8 with two games left in the 2023 season, without a chance to retain the NFC North title for a second straight season after losing 30-24 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
When discussing the rise of the Lions in the NFC North, Zimmer credited Detroit head coach Dan Campbell for his work with the Lions.
“I think [Campbell] has done a great job of getting players around him. I think Jared Goff has had an outstanding year. They’ve added [Jahmyr Gibbs] that’s really helped them. They’re playing good. Aaron Glen was one of my players when we were in Dallas as well. Those guys have done a really nice job,” Zimmer said.
Zimmer quipped that he was “waiting for [Aaron Rodgers] to get out [of the division] instead of me” when discussing some of the other changes in the NFC North.
Zimmer didn’t mention the Vikings in the six-minute conversation but did mention a desire to get back into coaching.
“I just think it’s something that’s in your blood. My dad was a high school coach for a long, long time. I love being around the players. I love the challenge of trying to make an organization better,” Zimmer said.
“The biggest thing is I love to teach, I love to coach,” he added. “When I was a head coach I was always trying to teach players, try to get them better.”
