Getty Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins
Former Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer’s distaste for quarterback Kirk Cousins has been well-documented contrary to the lip service he offered the veteran quarterback while head coach.
However, the most recent leak of Zimmer’s issues with Cousins by The Athletic’s Chad Graff highlights one of the most fundamental arguments against Cousins being an elite passer in the league.
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‘He Didn’t Elevate His Teammates’
In a February 28 article, Graff took inventory of Cousins’ relationships with his head coaches over the years in anticipation that the Vikings keeping Cousins would be a bet that newly hired head coach Kevin O’Connell can succeed where others have failed.
Graff reported that Zimmer “complained openly in coaching meetings about Cousins, and some of Zimmer’s top lieutenants echoed the sentiment. Zimmer didn’t feel the quarterback made enough ‘winning plays,’ that he didn’t take the necessary shots to help lead the Vikings to victory, and that he didn’t elevate his teammates.”
Zimmer is one for excuses after he fielded poor defenses in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but his critique of Cousins holds merit.
Coming off a 34-31 walk-off win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 10 where he outdueled Aaron Rodgers, Cousins, completing 24 of 35 passes for 341 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, said he felt he was playing “too aggressive,” a comment that Zimmer countered with encouragement.
“I want him to keep doing it like he’s doing it. He can’t second guess himself. If he throws an interception, that’s life. But you keep going for the jugular, it’s going to open up a lot of other areas in the running game. It’s going to open up other players. We’ve just got to keep being that way,” Zimmer said on November 23, per The Athletic.
Cousins had thrown 21 touchdowns and two interceptions up to that point in the season and was on pace for 5,000 passing yards. Had Zimmer’s defense performed better and a series of misfortunes gone the Vikings’ way, he would have been in the mix of MVP conversations.
But just as quickly as Cousins caught fire last season, he soon smoldered out. Cousins threw five interceptions in the next five weeks and averaged nearly 40 fewer passing yards per game.
Zimmer and Cousins attempted to keep a constructive work relationship last season by having weekly film meetings. But that was the first time the two came together after three seasons in tandem — and Zimmer had already made his feelings known about having an expensive quarterback before the Vikings signed Cousins in 2018.
Zimmer’s complaints align with former Washington coach Jay Gruden, who was Cousins’ head coach from 2014 to 2018. Gruden, who wasn’t nearly as anti-Cousins as Zimmer, still felt that Cousins’ overly safe tendencies hindered his potential.
“If he does have a weakness, it’s that he’s too much of a perfectionist. He wants everything to be perfect. Unfortunately, I can’t get guys 30 f****** yards open all the time. There are going to be some tight-window throws he’s going to have to throw some days,” Gruden said of Cousins, who responded saying he’d throw 20 interceptions if he played how Gruden asked him to.
Gruden’s rebuttal: “He’d have about 60 touchdowns year (too).”
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Here’s the full Q&A from that presser for context:
It’s All on O’Connell
The arguments for keeping Cousins have come down to better calls for better offensive game management, a better offensive line and a better defense to complement Cousins. All valid points, but few situations are perfect in the NFL.
However, the Vikings front office still has faith. Minnesota’s search committee for a new general manager told candidates they “still believe they can win” with Cousins, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on February 25.
Graff’s report adds more confirmation that the Vikings appear set on Cousins for at least 2022 by bringing in O’Connell.
From Graff:
But (Zimmer’s) view wasn’t shared by everyone. Some, especially in the front office, thought Zimmer didn’t handle the situation well. They acknowledged to Zimmer that Cousins isn’t a perfect quarterback but felt Zimmer’s job as head coach was to get the most out of the quarterback — and undercutting his play in coaching meetings didn’t help.
The Vikings hope that drama is in the past. Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman were fired, replaced by Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. But the failed relationship between Zimmer and Cousins underscores a troubling point that the Vikings will have to grapple with under a new regime. Cousins has had two head coaches in his seven years as a starter, and both coaches left convinced they couldn’t win with him at the helm.
Now the attention turns to O’Connell. The Vikings have intimated that they hired the former Rams offensive coordinator with the hope that his scheme can get the best out of Cousins, even if rumors about a potential Cousins trade will surely swirl here this week at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Cousins and O’Connell have already grappled with his conservative decision-making at times back in Washington, but after a pair of strong years with ample weapons in Cousins’ arsenal, O’Connell has a chance to unleash Cousins in a way his past coach’s had failed.