Zimmer Presser

Excitement was a theme of the press conference. The Vikings' eighth-year head coach was visibly fired up by everything that has happened — and will continue to happen — this offseason.

That doesn't just apply to the players the team has brought in and the continuing work to be done on adding pieces in free agency and the NFL draft. Zimmer also made it clear that he plans to switch some things up on defense in terms of scheme, strategy, and personnel groupings. He and the rest of his defensive coaching staff are hard at work with that, and it's something he's extremely passionate about.

"We’ve had some of the best meetings that I’ve had in eight years, probably," Zimmer said. "We’re dissecting every little thing that we do, going through everything with a fine-tooth comb. I’ve been really impressed with the coaches that are in there but also, the offenses have changed so much in the last four or five years, it’s time that we need to do some things differently and change and adapt. I’m actually really excited, I can’t wait to get back on the field with the players and get them going."

We'll have to wait until the fall to see what those changes actually look like, but Zimmer did give some hints. It seems like preparation is an area of focus. He wants the defense to be ready for everything that offenses will throw at them throughout the course of a season.

"The number one thing that we want to do on defense is we want to play fast," Zimmer said. "We want to play physical. We don’t want to be thinking. And the offenses lately have been getting us to think because we’ve had to adjust here and adjust there and do this and do that, and some of these things [are] just too hard to implement during the season. Some of it is big changes and some of it is minor tweaks."

After last year, where everything was virtual, Zimmer is relishing and taking advantage of the opportunity to be together will his full defensive coaching staff in person at TCO Performance Center.

"These meetings that we’ve had, if we were in 12 different cities and doing this on a Zoom meeting, we couldn’t get this done. We’re sitting in the room. We’re watching tape together. We’re going over everything. We get on the blackboard, or whiteboard now, and talk about, ‘OK, if they do this, how do we do this? What if they line up and do this?’ All the different scenarios that are going through our minds that we don’t have to try to get done in three days, getting ready for a game."

Zimmer doesn't want to ever have a repeat of last season's defensive performance. When that group takes the field this fall, not only will there be a bunch of faces who weren't out there in 2020, but there might be some different looks as well, whether that's in the form of packages, coverage shells, blitzes — whatever it may be.

We'll find out soon enough. If everything goes to plan, the Vikings might just get back to having a top-five defense in the league, which Zimmer hopes can combine with a talented offense and result in a return to the postseason.

Don't panic about the offense yet
I know what you're probably thinking, and I can't blame you. "Sure, that's all well and good about the defense, but what about the offense?"

Here's what Zimmer had to say about that:

"Our offense has been pretty darn good. They’re sixth in the league last year [author's note: I'm not sure what metric he's referring to, but they were top 10 in most of them]. We do have some holes, yeah, that we’ll fill, but we’ve still got time to do that. There’s still a lot of players out there right now and there will be some out there in the draft."

That's the key, in my opinion. Right now, the Vikings have some major needs on offense, none greater than the offensive line. They also need a third receiver and could use depth at quarterback, running back, and tight end. But they still have some cap space and ten draft picks to use. Don't panic just because they brought Dakota Dozier back (unless he winds up starting). There's still a lot of work to be done, and I'd assume the offense will be their focus going forward.

1. Last season wore on Zimmer
The head coach has been mocked a bit for his preseason comments that he’d never coached a bad defense before — and then, well, coaching a bad defense. That’s fair game. But Zimmer revealed for the first time how much that wore on him.

“When we looked at the defense after the season and evaluated it, it was pretty barren in there,” Zimmer said. “So we had to address that. Honestly, at the end of the season, I was kind of down in the dumps when I kept looking at the depth chart and knowing what kind of salary-cap space we had.”

That’s why the Vikings’ early moves in free agency focused on defense. They signed two cornerbacks, a safety, a linebacker and two defensive linemen. Plus, Zimmer is banking on the healthy return of Eric Kendricks, Anthony Barr, Danielle Hunter and Michael Pierce. After a dismal season that seemed to strip some of the joy from Zimmer’s job, those additions have Zimmer looking forward to getting back on the field.

“They’ve gotten me rejuvenated with the guys that they’ve brought in and the players that (they’ve brought in) to help,” Zimmer said. “And then you’ve got guys like Anthony Barr who, he decides to restructure his contract because he wants to be here. You’ve got guys like Stephen Weatherly and Mackensie (Alexander) and a lot of these other guys that really want to be here and Patrick Peterson. Those kinds of things get me excited.”

2. He’s looking at a new defensive scheme
The coaching staff is back at the team’s facility in Eagan, and Zimmer said one of their top priorities has been going through their scheme with a “fine-toothed comb.” The No. 1 reason for that is Zimmer wants his defense to play fast, a sentiment that echoes what a lot of offensive coaches have been asking for on their side of the ball.

“The offenses lately have been getting us to think because we have to adjust here, adjust there, do this, do that,” Zimmer said. “Some of these things we’ve talked about, and it’s just too hard to implement during the season. Some of it is big change, some of it is minor tweaks. The thing I’ve been impressed with, and I told coaches this today, these meetings that we’ve had, if we were in 12 different cities doing this in a Zoom meeting, we couldn’t get this done. We’re sitting in a room, we’re watching tape together, we’re going over everything, we’re getting on the whiteboard and talking about, ‘If we do this, how do we do this? What if they line up and do this?’ All the scenarios going through our minds that we don’t have to try to get done in three days getting ready for a game.”

Zimmer called the ongoing meetings with his staff, “some of the best meetings that I’ve had in eight years.”

He added: “The offenses have changed so much in the last four or five years, it’s time that we need to do some things differently and change and adapt. I’m actually really excited. I can’t wait to get back on the field with the players and get them going.”

3. Klint Kubiak draws a Kevin Stefanski comparison
Zimmer gets asked often about Kubiak, the team’s new 34-year-old offensive coordinator, who has never called plays. But Zimmer said he’s not worried about the lack of experience from the son of Gary Kubiak, the team’s offensive coordinator a year ago.

Zimmer said he’s been impressed by Kubiak’s first two months on the job and offered a comparison to Kevin Stefanski, who spent one year as the Vikings’ OC before winning AP Coach of the Year in his debut season leading the Browns.

“He’s ready for it,” Zimmer said of Kubiak. “Klint, he’s a lot like how Kevin was when he was there. He’s very detailed. He brings up the subject that they want to discuss. He’ll have his opinions. He’ll listen to the other guys’ opinions in the room and then go from there. He’s done a good job. Everybody’s going to wonder what it’s going to be like when you’re a first-time play caller, but at the end of the day, every one of us was always a first-time play caller at one point.”

4. Zimmer has high hopes for Kendricks and Barr
The Vikings’ signing of Dalvin Tomlinson came as a bit of a surprise considering his traits are so similar to Michael Pierce, the defensive tackle he’ll play next to on the line. But Zimmer likes that they’re both massive men with strengths at stopping the run. Because of that, Zimmer thinks his two top linebackers will thrive.

“I think Barr and Kendricks will like it even more because they’ll have two big guys, two space-eaters that have athletic ability that can win one-on-ones, hold the double teams for those two guys,” Zimmer said. “Kendricks is another guy back that we missed the last five ballgames. So we’ve added Hunter, Pierce, Barr, who missed the whole year, Tomlinson, (Patrick) Peterson. I mean, it’s going to look completely different when we get out there, and I’m excited about the whole crew. But those two guys specifically (Tomlinson and Pierce), they’re both great guys. They’re both really, really good run players who can push the pocket, and I think that’s going to help, not only Hunter and Barr but (D.J.) Wonnum and Weatherly, some of these other guys we have.”


5. It’s still unclear how the O-line will look
While the Vikings’ already subpar offensive line is now attempting to replace one of their best players, Zimmer doesn’t seem too concerned about the position. After cutting Riley Reiff, the Vikings traded for Mason Cole and re-signed Rashod Hill and Dakota Dozier. With those moves, Zimmer seems content that the offensive line isn’t a huge problem entering the draft.

“At this point, we’ve got Rashod Hill back, we’ve got (Oli) Udoh back, we’ve got (Brian) O’Neill back, we’ve got (Ezra) Cleveland,” Zimmer said when asked how they’ll replace Reiff. “So we’ll be able to take care of that situation. All of those guys are good players, and we’ll continue to figure it out and go from there.”

Cleveland gives the team flexibility to create a few different starting offensive line combinations. If the Vikings draft a left tackle they feel can start right away, then Cleveland will probably stay at right guard and there will be an open competition for the left guard job. If not, the Vikings could potentially move Cleveland to left tackle and keep Hill as the backup while holding competitions for both guard spots.

“Well, right now he’s right guard, but all those things can change depending on what happens the rest of the way in free agency and what else happens in the draft,” Zimmer said of Cleveland’s position. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in those places, and obviously there are other positions that we can draft. I’m sure at some point we’re going to try and address all those things.”

6. Zimmer’s not worried about the offense
While most of the NFL seems to be primarily focused on the offensive side of the ball, Zimmer and the Vikings have allocated their resources this offseason primarily to defense. But Zimmer maintained that he’s not concerned about that hurting his team’s offense. The Vikings offense ranked 11th in the NFL in points last season and fourth in yards.

“Our offense has been pretty darn good,” Zimmer said. “We do have some holes, yeah, that we’ll fill, but we’ve still got time to do that. There’s still a lot of players out there right now and there will be some out there in the draft.”

7. Backup QB is still up in the air
The Vikings only have two quarterbacks under contract other than Kirk Cousins, and it’s unclear how the competition for the job behind Cousins will shake out. In addition to Jake Browning and Nate Stanley being on the roster, Sean Mannion, the team’s backup for the last two years remains unsigned as a free agent.

“All those are options,” Zimmer said. “We really like Browning and Stanley. Stanley’s a big, big strong-armed kid. Browning’s been great the two years that he’s been here. Sean’s been outstanding in the room. So, again, without saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this or that,’ there’s a lot of options there, I believe.”

8. Best player available in the draft?
The prevailing thought entering Wednesday was that the Vikings would be pretty much forced to draft an offensive lineman with their first pick in the draft. While there are other needs, including at defensive end, the franchise has only three certain starters on the offensive line, which is why it seemed so likely to address that position with its first pick.

But Zimmer doesn’t see it that way.

“I think what we’ve done in free agency so far has allowed us to be able to take the best player available, wherever he is,” Zimmer said.

9. Danielle Hunter has talked to Andre Patterson
Zimmer said he’s hopeful that the team will be able to do some portion of its offseason activities in person this year after those were all virtual a year ago due to the pandemic. If they are in person, it’ll be interesting to see whether Hunter participates as he seeks a new contract and as he rehabs from a neck injury that required surgery and prevented him from playing last season.

“I know he’s talked to Andre. I have not talked to him,” Zimmer said. “He’s been sending back videos of his workouts, and they’re very, very impressive. So we’re excited to get him back on the field. He’s a great team guy, he’s a terrific player and he’s one of the best people that I’ve been around in professional football.”