Zimmer Extension Done - through 2023

The Minnesota Vikings made a commitment for the future Wednesday by extending head coach Mike Zimmer’s contract by a reported three years, ending an offseason of speculation that Zimmer could be a lame-duck coach in 2020.

The writing was on the wall last January when Vikings ownership crafted a statement of support for head coach Mike Zimmer in advance of the team’s Wild Card playoff game in New Orleans. The fact that the Vikings won that game only reinforced that Zimmer was likely staying put. Just as negotiations in the past have gone, the Vikings waited until early in training camp to get the deal finalized.

Only six NFL head coaches have been with their current teams longer than Zimmer, and all six have Super Bowl rings: Andy Reid, John Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin and Pete Carroll. In a league where 22 of the 32 coaches were hired in 2017 or later, Zimmer has been a rare constant in a role with unbounded scrutiny. His playoff success, however, is what prevents him from being lumped in with the league’s coaching elites, even though his regular season .589 winning percentage has always given the Vikings a chance.

Zimmer’s only sub-.500 season came in 2014 when he inherited a 5-10-1 team with a league-worst defense and got them to 7-9. Since then, he’s either been in or close to the playoffs each year, finishing one game out of playoff position in 2016 and a half game removed in 2018 when the Vikings lost a Week 17 win-and-in contest at home to the Bears.

The 64-year-old’s tenure has been filled with stark dichotomies; some innate with Zimmer’s personality and philosophy, others out of his control.

In appearance, Zimmer doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of today’s NFL head coach, and he’s OK with that. While the league is trending toward young, smooth-talking, offensive-minded head coaches with perfect hair, Zimmer openly roots for older hires like Vic Fangio as he addresses reporters in baggie sweatpants and a hoodie. Zimmer embodies the old-school mentality as much as any coach today, preaching toughness and leaving little room for nonsense off the field.

His defenses have been the pinnacle of continuity with minimal personnel or staff turnover in his first six years.

Ultimately, Zimmer has held to his convictions, and that transparency earned him enough favor in the locker room and with the organization to stick around for the foreseeable future. From the Vikings’ standpoint, adding a hot-seat head coach to a list of growing distractions would have made little sense in a strange 2020 season. By extending Kirk Cousins earlier in the offseason, the Vikings signaled they were seeking continuity, which Zimmer’s new contract provides.

In many ways, Zimmers first several years were packed with change: instituting a new system, switching stadiums, switching practice facilities, constantly switching quarterbacks. With the quarterback and coach seemingly settled for a few years, the Vikings hope to find their organizational rhythm.

As the Vikings chart a path through an unusual season with an inexperienced roster, they’ve made clear to everyone in the league that they expect this leadership group to remain.

It never would’ve been ideal to make this a prove-it year for Zimmer. Such a proclamation would be more suitable for a team with ample continuity. But solidified, these Vikings are not. Who plays wide receiver? Who plays corner? Who knows?

That’s part of why Zimmer’s extension is such a big deal. He and Spielman first tried to build around a first-round quarterback who Zimmer thought would be the last quarterback he ever coached. Instead, a freak injury to Teddy Bridgewater forced an audible. Four offensive coordinators and three quarterbacks later, Spielman has re-shaped the roster to Zimmer’s liking.



The teams they liked so much in recent years fell short at one point or another in the playoffs. So they decided this offseason to re-tool with hopes that a Super Bowl-caliber team was still to come.

It was a risky decision without the security that comes from multi-year contracts. But Zimmer felt throughout the early part of the offseason that it was a foregone conclusion he’d be extended. Only recently, as the summer wore on and training camp neared, did Zimmer prep for the possibility of coaching in the final year of his deal.

In the end, Zimmer’s points prevailed. He touted his .600 win percentage, which is third-best in franchise history. He made it known that he ranks in the top five in wins since 2015. His defenses are routinely among the best in football.

There are certainly valid criticisms for Zimmer’s tenure in Minnesota, which began with season No. 7 on Thursday as rookies and quarterbacks report for training camp. He hasn’t made the playoffs in consecutive years and his teams were embarrassed in their two postseason losses the past three seasons.

But the Wilfs value stability and appreciate that this move brings that. They want to be viewed as a model franchise akin to the Pittsburgh Steelers and placing long-term trust in their head coach is one way to do that.