Minnesota Vikings helmet sits on the side of the field at the Minnesota Vikings Minicamp at Winter Park. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings hired former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer as their head coach yesterday, and it’s a perfect fit if the Vikings can hire a strong offensive coordinator to help the first-year head coach. Zimmer knows more than enough about the offensive side of the ball to succeed as a head coach, and he’s a great X’s and O’s guy who commands the respect of his players. In Cincy, Zimmer was able to consistently field one of the NFL’s better defenses, and he deserved to receive a call-up to head coach this offseason.
Zimmer was rumored to be the Vikings favorite to fill the head coaching vacancy, and they decided to go with a defense-minded head coach despite the failures of Leslie Frazier. But it’s easy to forget that Frazier’s term in Minnesota wasn’t a complete disaster. Two key things that Zimmer will need to do his part in creating a great defense for the Vikings and to be a stronger head coach than Frazier was; he has to assess his authority.
The Vikings seem to be closing in on Norv Turner as their next offensive coordinator, and they are currently looking at defensive coordinator candidates. Per a source close to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Vikings have hired Miami Dolphins linebackers coach George Edwards, and he will be one of their interviews for the defensive coordinator gig. Thus, while Edwards has a shot at being the Vikings DC under Zimmer, he is only guaranteed a spot as a linebackers coach. It seems like Zimmer prefers to have a strong LBs coach working under him, but the Vikings biggest problem is at secondary. However, that’s mostly due to below-average personnel.