Vikings reportedly considering driving Mike Zimmer to Jacksonville
By Adam Carlson
There is a report that the Minnesota Vikings are considering driving head coach Mike Zimmer to Jacksonville for the week 14 game if he is unable to fly.
Head coach Mike Zimmer missed the Minnesota Vikings week 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football after he was rushed into surgery for an issue regarding his eye and his vision.
Zimmer is a tough guy, and he’s already hoping to be available for the team’s week 14 game in Jacksonville, but some issues may prevent that. Circumstances like current state of vision, pressure on his eye, and location logistics could be a huge hurdle that keeps the hard-headed coach at home.
Recently, Pro Football Talk ran an article about the team considering a long road trip from Minneapolis all the way down to Florida if the head coach isn’t cleared from getting on an airplane.
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What is normally a flight a little over 4 hours long would become a 21 hour road trip. While possible, here are some reasons to question that the team would actually consider this extremely long road trip.
First, there is some circular basis for reporting. Pro Football Talk (an NBC-based site) cites the Duluth News-Tribune as their source for the information in their article. The problem with that is the News-Tribune credits their information came from NBC.
Whether or not this report is accurate, there is little doubt that Mike Zimmer wants to be there for his team in week 14.
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Vikings fans all over the world would love to see Mike Zimmer return to the sidelines for the game against Jacksonville, but if it isn’t practical or realistic and there is any chance of his attendance having a negative impact on his recovery, it should not be considered since long-term health should be the head coach’s number one priority.