ESPN doesn’t believe Mike Zimmer’s job is completely safe

ESPN recently ranked the job safety of every current NFL head coach and the positioning of the Minnesota Vikings head coach may surprise a few.

During the six years that Mike Zimmer has been the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, there has only been one season in which the team finished with a losing record (2013). The Vikings have won 55 games since Zimmer arrived in 2014 and his winning percentage is currently the third-best in franchise history behind Dennis Green and Bud Grant.

During the previous 13 seasons before Zimmer was hired, Minnesota was only able to finish first in their division twice. Under their current head coach, the Vikings have already won two division titles since 2014 and they’re still in contention to win a third this year.

Despite all of this, some still think that Zimmer’s job is actually in danger. Yes, the guy who has Minnesota still with a chance to potentially earn a first-round bye in the playoffs this season apparently has a job status that is currently up in the air for 2020.

This is at least according to a recent ranking by ESPN. They went over every current NFL head coach and ranked them according to how hot they believe each of their seats are. The tiers of the rankings ranged from hot seat (most danger), to warm seat, to cool seat, to cold seat (most safe).

According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Zimmer’s seat is currently warm.

"“The final quarter of the season will determine how much warmer Zimmer’s seat gets, and where he’s at now certainly puts the pressure his job security down the stretch. His defense has struggled throughout the season, allowing 400 yards to Seattle in a game that could have greatly impacted the Vikings chances to earn a home playoff game. That cannot continue to happen if he wants to remain on the safe side.”"

In terms of Zimmer’s positioning on the list compared to the other head coaches around the league, the Vikings head coach apparently has one of the seven hottest seats in the NFL right now. Zimmer has the same ranking as Freddie Kitchens of the Cleveland Browns and Matt Patricia of the Detroit Lions.

Not sure if anyone has actually watched the Browns and Lions play this year, but to say Zimmer’s job security is comparable to the two head coaches of these two terrible teams is absolutely insane.

At this point in the season, Minnesota would have to get blown out of their final four games and a mutiny would have to start in the locker room for Zimmer to get fired. The Vikings head coach, once again, has his team in position to earn a spot in the playoffs this year and possibly even make a run in the postseason if they get in.

Minnesota hasn’t turned into a juggernaut in the NFC since Zimmer became their head coach, but very few teams around the NFL have been able to even consistently be in a position to succeed like the Vikings have since 2014.

To look at this season after 12 games and think that Zimmer’s job is anywhere close to being in danger just sounds like the opinion of someone who hasn’t really been paying attention to everything he’s done for the franchise.