Entering what will be his fourth year as the Minnesota Vikings head coach, what are the areas that Mike Zimmer needs to get better at while on the sidelines?
Even though he will be 61-years-old in June, Mike Zimmer is still inexperienced when it comes to being an NFL head coach. His 20 seasons as an assistant in the league are still valuable, but he has quickly realized that there is still a lot to learn during his time as the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach over the last three years.
But first, let’s not shy away from the fact that he has helped lead the Vikings to a total of 26 wins (some with the use of only one eye) since the 2014 season. His win total are the most by a Minnesota head coach in their first three years since Dennis Green won 30 games during his first three seasons with the franchise from 1992 to 1994.
Under Zimmer’s leadership, the Vikings have also seen their defense rise from the laughing stock of the league to one of the NFL’s best in 2016. His achievements during his time in Minnesota are likely why the franchise decided to award their head coach with a contract extension last July.
Despite his success so far with the Vikings, there are some aspects of being a head coach that Zimmer still needs to improve upon heading into the 2017 season.
Zimmer vs. the game clock:
His skills with clock management reared its ugly head once again in 2016, especially during Minnesota’s overtime loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 9.
Down 13-9 (thanks in part to a Blair Walsh missed extra point) with 1:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Vikings offense were faced with first and goal from the Lions’ three-yard line. The first play was a pass to Minnesota wide receiver Stefon Diggs that managed to only gain one yard, but he stayed inbounds and the clock continued to run.
Instead of winding down the clock a little bit more, the Vikings elected to call their next play just 20 seconds later. A one-yard run by Minnesota running back Matt Asiata got the team closer to the end zone and also allowed the clock to keep running.
Despite the odds being his team’s favor to score a go-ahead touchdown, Zimmer decided to call a timeout just 13 seconds after Asiata was tackled, leaving 27 seconds remaining on the game clock. The Vikings went on to find the end zone on the very next play thanks to a one-yard run by tight end Rhett Ellison and took the lead over Detroit by a score of 16-13 with just 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
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But apparently that short amount of time left in regulation was all Detroit’s offense needed to drive 35 yards downfield and tie the game up with a 58-yard field goal by kicker Matt Prater. The Lions eventually went on to beat Minnesota in overtime that day and Vikings’ fans were left doing their best “surrender cobra” in the stands at U.S. Bank Stadium.
In hindsight, the quick play call on second down and the even quicker timeout on third down are obviously parts of the game that Zimmer could have done differently. But his defense could have also stopped the Lions from driving 35 yards in 23 seconds.
So there is that.
No need for unnecessary controversy:
Anyone who has followed Zimmer during his time as a coach in the NFL knows that he has never been one to hold back what is on his mind. But sometimes, he may actually say too much than he has to.
As early as this past preseason, Zimmer’s refusal to confirm some minor shoulder soreness of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater made a whole lot out of something that ended up being a total non-issue. He could have just said, “Teddy’s shoulder is a little sore and we wanted to give him some extra rest before the start of the season,” and that would have been the end of that conversation.
Then there are those times when Zimmer perhaps criticizes some of his players a bit too harshly to the media. The argument can be made that he just wants the best out of the guys in his locker room, but not everyone responds positively to his coach throwing them under the bus to the press (see Sharrif Floyd, Anthony Barr, etc.)
It may not be what people want to hear, but times change and coaches must make the proper adjustments to change with them or be shown the door.
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With that being said, the Vikings are still in very good hands with Zimmer leading the charge. And with the possibility of him having the ability to see out of both eyes next season, the sky is the limit for Minnesota in 2017.