Vikings to fire Mike Zimmer? Latest report does not reveal much

The latest reporting regarding the future of Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer reveals that the team is still unsure about his status.

Despite the Minnesota Vikings being close to missing the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons, a new report reveals that no definitive decision has been made about head coach Mike Zimmer.

According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Sunday, Zimmer’s fate in Minnesota has “not yet been decided,” and “winning out and making the playoffs would go a long way toward solidifying his status,” with the franchise.

It sounds like much of the Vikings’ future is riding on their final two games of the 2021 season. But should it be this way?

Future of Mike Zimmer should already be known by Minnesota Vikings

Sunday’s report from Rapoport appears to indicate that the results of the next two weeks will determine Zimmer’s fate in Minnesota.

However, there is no reason why the team’s ownership shouldn’t already know what they are going to do with their head coach in 2022. Especially with the Vikings now being a heavy underdog in their matchup on Sunday with the Green Bay Packers following the placement of quarterback Kirk Cousins on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday.

Using a game where Sean Mannion is going to be the starting signal-caller for Minnesota isn’t helping anyone in the franchise. It’s not fair to Zimmer or any other member of the organization to have their fate depend on a quarterback who has never thrown a touchdown pass since entering the NFL since 2015.

While Zimmer leading the Vikings to a win over the Packers on Sunday without Cousins would be impressive, Minnesota’s ownership should already have a pretty definitive idea about what they plan to do with the team’s head-coaching situation next year, regardless of the results in Green Bay.

Major changes need to be made to the Vikings in 2022 and these big decisions should be based on the performance of the team during the entire season. How Minnesota plays during the final two games on their 2021 schedule should not have a large influence on the team’s future, but unfortunately, it seems like this might be the case.