Minnesota Vikings: Mike Zimmer doesn’t want ‘independent contractors’

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer always preaches team play over individual efforts, and he made it clear he doesn’t want ‘independent contractors’.

Some analysts and experts around the world of the NFL think of Mike Zimmer as a link to the coaches of the past. His hard-nosed technique to coaching is rarely seen these days, but has endeared him to fans of the Minnesota Vikings.

One thing Zimmer has made clear as a head coach is that losing is not acceptable. During his conference from the media following the team’s week 14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the head coach expressed his frustration with the recent losses.

Here is what he said during the Monday, December 12th conference as streamed on the Vikings Facebook account:

"I’m tired of losing. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of penalties. We’re not living up to our potential and I won’t stand for it.”"

Zimmer’s main gripe comes when players don’t execute their assignments. He can often be seen chewing out a player on the sidelines for being out of place or missing tackles following a broken play.

Zimmer made it clear that winning and losing is a team effort, and he wants team players in his huddles. He praised the teamwork of Vikings in the conference.

We saw some of that ‘independent contractor’ status when Captain Munnerlyn first came to Minnesota. He admitted that he was stuck in his own ways and didn’t always to what the play called for because of this past success with Carolina. This didn’t sit well with the coaching staff, and the defensive back found himself sitting out plays with less talented players filling in for him.

Thankfully, Munnerlyn changed his opinion on buying into the Vikings ways and has become one of the most important parts of the team’s defense. Now, the team is noticeably different in his absence and his play has reached even higher levels.

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The bottom line here is that Mike Zimmer wants to build a Super Bowl machine. Inside that machine, there needs to be many moving parts, but they must work as one unit to be efficient. Right now, the Minnesota Vikings have that kind of team in place, with very few, if any, independent contractors.