Maintain patience with a worthy head coach
In his first five seasons as the head coach of the Chiefs, Andy Reid led the team to the playoffs four times. Despite their constant trips to the postseason, Reid and Kansas City were only able to win one playoff game during this period of time.
This, of course, changed when Patrick Mahomes was placed under center in 2018. In both of their seasons with Mahomes as their starting quarterback, the Chiefs have made it to the AFC Championship or further.
So Kansas City’s lack of success in the postseason really wasn’t due to Reid missing the necessary coaching skills to lead his team. It had more to do with the Chiefs not having the right players on their roster to lead them to a championship.
A head coach can only do so much as it’s up to the players out on the field to go out and execute and do their job. Reid consistently puts his guys in position to succeed and this something that can also be said about Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.
Minnesota has made the playoffs in three of their last five years under Zimmer and the team has finished with a losing record just once in his six seasons as the head coach. Zimmer does the best that he can with the players he’s given and sometimes mistakes out on the field are completely out of his control.
The Chiefs could have gone out and tried to find someone new to get them over the hump after winning only one playoff game in Reid’s first five seasons with the team. But Kansas City knew their head coach was the right guy for the job and they stuck by him.
This is a philosophy that the Vikings should also be adopting. While the grass may seem greener with someone other than Zimmer leading the way, Minnesota knows better than most that a head coaching change can also result in a tremendous setback for a franchise.