As Black Monday inches closer, the reality is starting to sink in that these could be the final days of Mike Zimmer serving as the head coach for the Minnesota Vikings.
There’s nothing gleeful or fun about anyone losing their job, but the truth is the Vikings haven’t played up to their potential. Given the level of talent on the team, they were expected to be Super Bowl contenders or—at the very least—playoff contenders.
But Super Bowl aspirations seem like a pipe dream at this point, and after getting rolled on by the Green Bay Packers in Week 17, they have now been eliminated from postseason contention in back-to-back years.
Zimmer might not always talk about it, but he definitely hears the noise from those calling for change.
“I think it’s different that people can talk about your job and being let go and things like that. And not understanding the effects of all of the coaches, players and their families. They say it after you lose every week,” Zimmer told Paul Allen, during an appearance on X’s and O’s. “They don’t go around saying they should fire that doctor or fire that landscape guy or anything like that. It’s just part of the business I guess.”
Regardless of what happens after Sunday’s season finale against the Chicago Bears, Zimmer appears to have made peace with it through his effort over the years. He truly believes he has given everything he has to the Vikings’ organization.
The team has made it to the playoffs three times in his eight seasons as the head coach, including a conference championship appearance in the 2017 season.
“I’ve tried my best every single week. To me, what’s important is the players and trying to give them my very best each and every time I go out there,” Zimmer said. “But I broke a tooth off about eight weeks ago and still haven’t been to the dentist. I almost lost my eye a couple years ago. So there’s all kinds of things that I’ve tried to do here.”