Getty Mike Zimmer made light of his team's penchant for letting games come down to the final play.
Mike Zimmer has kept his head down while rumors circle surrounding his job security.
With three games left in the season, the Minnesota Vikings (7-7) currently hold the final wild-card spot in the NFC playoffs. However, they have challenging matchups with the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers ahead before their season finale and rematch with the Chicago Bears.
Ownership has expressed the expectation of being a “playoff factor this season to fend off major changes.”
But as Minnesota has flirted with mediocrity and failed to put away lesser opponents this season, calls for Zimmer’s ousting have rung throughout the season.
However, Zimmer appears adamant that his seat is secure for now.
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‘I’m on a Hot Seat?’
Coming off a 17-9 victory over the Bears, a reporter asked Zimmer on Wednesday, December 22, how it felt to emerge from a matchup where both he and Bears coach Matt Nagy appeared to be coaching for their jobs.
Mike Zimmer: “I’m on the hot seat?!” 😂
The reporter: “Your job, you always have your head down, but in a game with the Bears and you’re in the hot seat with Nagy and yourself—”
“I’m on a hot seat?” before shrugging off the question and adding that he has no thoughts on the rumors, keeping a relatively cooler head than we’ve seen from the surly head coach in the past.
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ESPN Says Zimmer’s Seat is Indeed Hot
After the Vikings dropped their first game of the season, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported that eh staff this season is under pressure with a playoff mandate after missing the postseason in 2022.
“The Wilfs, who own the team, have pondered significant changes in the past, and seriously considered parting ways with head coach Mike Zimmer even after a playoff appearance two years ago, sources said. It is not lost on those within the organization how significant this season is to maintaining job security there,” La Canfora wrote. “[Ownership] conveyed to some associates their expectation that the club be a playoff factor this season to fend off major changes.”
ESPN beat reporter Courtney Cronin corroborated La Canfora’s report this week in her assessment of the Vikings in NFL Nation’s weekly power rankings. Asked to gauge the temperature of Zimmer’s seat out of four, Cronin gave Zimmer a four with the Vikings ranked No. 19 in the NFL entering Week 16.
“The Vikings have not missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since Zimmer took over in 2014. If they don’t make it this season, it’s hard to see Zygi and Mark Wilf wanting to continue the course with Zimmer at the helm despite the fact that he has two years remaining on his contract,” Cronin wrote.
Holding the Bears to a season-low nine points on Monday, the Vikings defense has a chance at redeeming their defensive head coach’s reputation by improving their play amid a season where the offense has shouldered the majority of the victories this season.
“Zimmer’s defense never truly bounced back in 2021 after the copious number of resources that were poured into retooling this once-vaunted unit, and the abundance of one-score games the Vikings have played in this season might make the Wilfs want to get off the roller coaster,” Cronin added.