Getty The Vikings are expected to move on from head coach Mike Zimmer this offseason, CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reported.
The Minnesota Vikings made an escalation toward their ultimatum with coach Mike Zimmer.
After a loss to open the 2021 season, CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora reported that ownership expects “the club be a playoff factor to avoid fend off major changes.”
But approaching a must-win primetime matchup on the road against the Green Bay Packers, La Canfora reported Sunday that the Vikings have already begun background work on finding a new head coach for the 2022 season.
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Vikings Could Ditch Zimmer by Monday
La Canfora, assessing the NFL coaching landscape, reported that the Vikings are preparing to search for a new head coach at the end of the season.
From La Canfora:
The Vikings, Broncos and Bears have also had internal discussions about their head coaching situations and are preparing to conduct a search at the end of the season, league sources said.
While a final decision has not been made, coaches on all three staffs are bracing as if they might be elsewhere next season, and it would not be surprising to many within those teams if they make a change. Within those organizations, background work on potential candidates and what attributes would be most attractive to ownership/management have begun, and all three of these teams harbored playoff expectations entering the season.
By the end of play in Week 17 that could be expunged for all of them, and any chance that the Bears avoided a coaching search basically expired weeks ago.
La Canfora’s report signals that research and paperwork are being gathered.
But without the decision finalized, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that Zimmer’s fate has not yet been sealed and a playoff appearance could resecure his position with the team.
“Mike Zimmer appears to be one of the coaches whose fate has not yet been decided, per sources informed of his situation,” Rapoport wrote. “Winning out and making the playoffs would go a long way toward solidifying his status. Miss the playoffs — for the fifth time in eight seasons — and it would be a decision left to Minnesota’s ownership.”
Under trial rules this season, teams can begin the interviewing process for hiring new coaches as of last Tuesday. Teams have to inform their current head coach that they will not be retained before conducting the interview.
But with the Vikings one loss away from being eliminated from the playoffs, the message from Vikings ownership, through both La Canfora and Rapoport, is clear for Zimmer.
Stay alive another week, or the search will begin.
If the Vikings lose on Sunday, Zimmer could still finish out the season in a meaningless Week 18 matchup with the Chicago Bears. But the Vikings, officially eliminated from the playoffs in that scenario, could also move forward and give Zimmer his resignation notice next week.
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Odds Are Stacked Against Vikings
The Vikings (7-8) were already 6.5-point underdogs entering their Week 17 road matchup with the Packers (12-3).
But after Kirk Cousins tested positive for COVID-19 and was ruled out of the primetime tilt, the betting odds shifted heavily in favor of Green Bay, who are now 13-point favorites, per FanDuel.
Sean Mannion, who has never thrown a touchdown in seven years as a professional, will start under center for the Vikings — leaving little optimism of a replacement-level passing game.
The game will hinge on the Vikings run game, which welcomes back Dalvin Cook after the star running back missed Week 16 against the Los Angeles Rams after testing positive for COVID-19.
Cook racked up 226 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in a 28-22 win over the Packers the last time Minnesota visited Lambeau Field, but employing Cook in a run-heavy approach will require the Packers defense to at least respect Mannion and the passing game.
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Vikings Make Move in Search for New Head Coach: Report