5 Vikings who deserve a lump of coal in their Christmas stocking this year

Mike Zimmer

The Vikings have a roster chock full of talent on both sides of the ball, yet they find themselves at .500 with three games left to play in the regular season. They are a team that has struggled to find their own identity all season long, often playing up or down to their competition. The reason they have been so inconsistent is because of the decision-making of their head coach.

A good head coach knows what he’ll get from his team week in and week out. They’ll play their brand of football and find ways to win games at the end, even when they struggle. The 2021 Vikings have been the opposite of that. This team finds ways to lose games, getting beat by lesser teams or by inexperienced quarterbacks who are making their first career start.

Zimmer has also made some questionable decisions when it comes to when to go for it on fourth down, when to go for it instead of kicking a field goal, and taking time outs immediately after he already has done just that. Those decisions have left points off the scoreboard for Minnesota and have brought teams back in games when the Vikings should have been milking the clock and mentally start preparing for the following week’s game.

Unless Minnesota shockingly makes a run to the Super Bowl, Zimmer will inevitably be fired after the season. It seems like offenses have figured out his defense and the modern NFL game has passed him by.

This was supposed to be a season where the Vikings went all in to make a playoff push, and at this point, they seem unlikely to even make the big dance. That goes down to coaching and is worthy of a lump of anthracite in Zimmer’s stocking on Christmas morning.