There are conflicting reports about former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer becoming the new defensive coordinator for the University of Colorado.
Since former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was part of the coaching staff at Jackson State under Deion Sanders this year, it’s not surprising that he’s been rumored to be joining the coaching staff at the University of Colorado after the school recently hired Sanders to be their new head coach.
Minnesota reporter Larry Fitzgerald Sr. stirred the pot even more on Wednesday when he posted the following on his Twitter account.
Mike Zimmer Vikings ex Head Coach will be Deion Sanders defensive coordinator at Colorado after going 12-0 at Jackson State-He gets 💰💰Pay raise and fresh clean drinking water 💦.
— Larry Fitzgerald Sr. (@FitzBeatSr) December 7, 2022
Colorado reportedly not hiring former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer to be their defensive coordinator
Shortly after Fitzgerald’s tweet on Wednesday, BuffZone’s Brian Howell disputed the claim that Zimmer was heading to Colorado to be the team’s new defensive coordinator.
Regarding the reports of former Vikings HC Mike Zimmer becoming the defensive coordinator at Colorado, I was told that is "not happening" from a source. #cubuffs
— Brian Howell (@BrianHowell33) December 7, 2022
A few minutes after Howell shot down the Zimmer rumors, he reported that Colorado is expected to hire Alabama associate defensive coordinator Charles Kelly to be their new defensive coordinator under Sanders.
Despite the former Vikings coach not being tabbed to lead the defense in Colorado, there is some belief that he could still end up with a role on Sanders’ staff in the near future.
It’s certainly possible that Zimmer will join Sanders in Colorado, but it would likely be due to the former Minnesota head coach not getting any enticing offers to be a coordinator or a head coach again in the NFL before the 2023 season.
Zimmer was probably fine with working for Sanders at Jackson State because his role on the staff as an analyst wasn’t very intensive. Being a defensive coordinator at an FBS school is more of a full-time job, and if he’s going to commit to a full-time coaching role again, it would likely be with an NFL team and not a struggling college program.