Vikings Mike Zimmer ranked 10th in NFL.com head coach power rankings
By Adam Carlson
Mike Zimmer continues to gain respect as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, as Elliot Harrison ranked him 10th in his power ranking of NFL coaches.
It’s not very often that a head coach goes from an 11 win season to an 8 win season but continues to earn respect and praise from experts and analysts around the league, but that’s exactly what happened with Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.
Even with missing one game due to needing emergency surgery on his eye, Zimmer placed 10th among NFL head coaches in a power ranking done by NFL.com Analyst Elliot Harrison on June 21, 2017.
While his explanation for placing Zimmer at #10 was short, it summed up a lot of what the head coach was able to accomplish last season despite many hardships. Here is what Harrison wrote in the piece:
"“Although the Vikings went 8-8 last season, Zimmer did his job. Remember that the Vikings’ two most important players — Teddy Bridgewater and Adrian Peterson — were non-factors. Zimmer kept the ship afloat, even starting the season 5-0. While the slow finish was not optimal, without Zimmer’s panic-free attitude, it’s doubtful Minnesota would have finished at .500 in a division with two playoff teams.”"
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For those curious about the top 10, here is a rundown of the coaches who were listed above Zimmer:
- Bill Belichick – New England Patriots
- Pete Carroll – Seattle Seahawks
- Mike McCarthy – Green Bay Packers
- Mike Tomlin – Pittsburgh Steelers
- Andy Reid – Kansas City Chiefs
- John Harbaugh – Baltimore Ravens
- Bruce Arians – Arizona Cardinals
- Ron Rivera – Carolina Panthers
- Sean Payton – New Orleans Saints
- Mike Zimmer – Minnesota Vikings
Next: Vikings 2017 schedule breakdown
Congratulations to Mike Zimmer for being ranked 10th on this list of NFL coach power rankings. Hopefully the team will have a better 2017 and next year will find the head coach cracking the top 5 of Eliot Harrison in the 2018 power rankings.