The Minnesota Vikings head coach is oddly optimistic about his struggling kicker.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has never been one to hide his true feelings from anyone. If Zimmer has a problem with something, he’s going to let you know about it.
This method of going about life can rub some people the wrong way, but the Vikings head coach would probably respond to that by saying, “that’s their problem, not mine.”
Due to Zimmer consistently displaying this type of blunt behavior, most expected him to be extremely angry with the terrible performance of Minnesota kicker Dan Bailey last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Some even joked that the Vikings head coach would probably leave Bailey in Tampa after his awful kicking display.
How does Mike Zimmer feel about the current Minnesota Vikings kicker?
Given Zimmer’s history with kickers during his tenure in Minnesota, most assumed the team would be showing Bailey the door this week. But that hasn’t been the case as the veteran kicker is still on the Vikings roster and it seems like he will be keeping his job for at least another week.
On Thursday, Zimmer had some comments about Bailey and the kicker’s future with the team. The remarks from Minnesota’s head coach were oddly optimistic.
"“(Bailey has) kicked good this week. I talked to him a couple times this week about certain things. He’s a very even-keeled guy that has a history of being a terrific kicker in this league.Like I told the team the other day, there’s not one guy on our football team that hasn’t had a bad day. That’s just part of life. We’re not going to dwell on it. Everybody else is, but we’re not.”"
Zimmer also added that he has “a lot of confidence,” in Bailey.
As if 2020 wasn’t crazy enough already, now we’ve got the Vikings head coach complimenting a kicker? If your mind is blown, it’s okay because you’re probably not the only one whose jaw hit the floor after reading these comments.
Does Bailey have some dark secrets about Zimmer or something? Safe to say no one saw these comments coming from Minnesota’s head coach on Thursday.
This is the guy who was ruthless when Blair Walsh and Daniel Carlson were going through their struggles. And now, Zimmer is using the word “terrific” to describe Bailey after he just missed four kicks in a single game?
Predicting the Vikings final three games of the 2020 NFL season
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Maybe Zimmer has turned a corner? Sorry if you can’t contain your laughter after that sentence, but these positive comments about a kicker are not something anyone is used to hearing from the head coach’s mouth, especially after that kicker is coming off a historically poor performance.