Mike Zimmer isn’t leaving the Minnesota Vikings anytime soon

Expect Mike Zimmer to remain with the Minnesota Vikings after 2020.

During Mike Zimmer’s first six seasons as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, the team finished with a losing record just once, his first year.

Since then, the Vikings have headed into each season feeling like they have a chance to contend with the best teams in the NFL and they have Zimmer to thank for this. Minnesota’s head coach has put his team in a position to succeed in each of the last five years.

So far, this season hasn’t been great for the Vikings and Zimmer. Minnesota has lost both of their games this year and they are sitting with an 0-2 record for the first time since 2013.

Is Mike Zimmer’s job with the Minnesota Vikings in danger?

Thanks to their disappointing start to the season, there are some who are already calling for the Vikings to move on from Zimmer. Unfortunately for these people though, that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon.

Minnesota just signed Zimmer to a three-year contract extension. His new deal has him under contract until 2024 and during the middle of a pandemic, the Vikings probably are not about to part ways with a head coach who still has three years left on his deal.

Contracts for head coaches in the NFL are fully guaranteed, meaning if Minnesota were to fire Zimmer, they would have to pay both him and his replacement until 2024.

So far, the Vikings haven’t announced if they will let fans attend their home games at any point this season. If Minnesota ends up playing in front of no fans inside U.S. Bank Stadium for the entire year, it could result in a revenue loss of over $150 million.

With this being a legitimate possibility, it’s very hard to imagine that the Vikings would like to add another head coach’s salary to their expenses in 2021.

So Zimmer’s job is probably safe until 2022, regardless of what happens during the current season. There’s always the possibility of him retiring or resigning after this year, but Minnesota giving him his pink slip isn’t something that will likely happen.