Mike Zimmer’s First Year Impact on the Vikings
Dec 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman and Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer shake hands after the game at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 13-9. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
In attempting to quantify Mike Zimmer’s impact on the Minnesota Vikings in his first year as head coach, the most simple way would be to look at the win-loss record. While that did improve (5-10-1 in 2013; 7-9 in 2014), I believe his impact was greater than that.
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First, let’s take a look at the defense. Last year’s defense was abysmal. Finishing 31st out of 32 teams in yards and dead last in points allowed last season got Leslie Frazier fired. Mike Zimmer was brought aboard with a reputation for building successful defenses and improving struggling players as a defensive coordinator. Both of those perceptions bore out to be accurate in his first season at the helm of the Viking’s ship.
As a whole, the defense improved to 14th in the league in yards allowed and 11th in points given up. That is a drastic improvement, made all the more impressive that it has been done with mostly the same cast of characters as last season. There were certainly some additions, most notably Anthony Barr, who was playing at a Rookie of the Year level until getting hurt. That said, the most readily apparent improvements were made by players who were already on the squad last year.
Zimmer got emotional during his postgame press conference when talking about the progress made by Xavier Rhodes in his second season. Physically, Rhodes was clearly a presence straight out of college. However, he was very up and down as a rookie, as most first year players are. Zimmer is reputed to be more aggressive than Frazier, both with his play calls as well as his handling of his players. While Frazier was well-respected by his players as well, Zimmer is regarded as being a more hands-on guy. There is no way to quantify his exact amount of impact, but there is a reason he is credited so much with turning around or helping form the careers of Pac Man Jones, Vontaze Burfict, and Michael Johnson. That trait has remained true with Rhodes, who had 18 pass break-ups in 2014, his first interception, and whom Zimmer trusted to shadow the opposition’s best receivers for the last few weeks of the season.
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Zimmer also never showed anything other than total confidence in Teddy Bridgewater during the signal caller’s rookie year. While it is again impossible to quantify, it is nearly impossible to come up with a legendary head coach without an equally legendary signal caller. Lombardi had Starr, Landry had Staubach, Grant had Tarkenton and Belichick has Brady. The ultimate hope is that Zimmer and Bridgewater are ultimately remembered under the same terms, and with at least one ring.
It is impossible to prove statistically, but I’ve never trusted in a Vikings head coach and quarterback long term than I do right now. Here’s hoping my belief is founded.