Instant reaction: Mike Zimmer's multi-year deal gives him a chance to build another winner

Vikings have one less distraction heading into camp

*Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

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The Minnesota Vikings removed a bit of drama and tension from the opening of training camp by signing Mike Zimmer to a multi-year contract, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. A source told Purple Insider that the deal is for three years.

Now he will have a chance to see through the revamp of the roster and aim for a similar trajectory as the Vikings underwent from the time he arrived in 2014 to their peak in 2017, when they reached the NFC Championship game.

Zimmer’s status felt like it had a chance to get ugly. Last week, a source told The Athletic that Zimmer was ‘irked’ that he and the team hadn’t worked out an extension yet. Prior to the team’s playoff game against the New Orleans Saints last year, the Wilfs put out a statement that they planned to keep Zimmer amid rumors that they would consider trading him to the Dallas Cowboys.

The combination of an impressive defensive performance in the victory over the Saints and a revamped young roster that has the chance to grow over the next several seasons around players like first-round picks Justin Jefferson and Jeff Gladney as well as those who have flashed talent and are ready to come into their primes under Zimmer a la Brian O’Neill, Irv Smith, Mike Hughes, Ifeadi Odenigbo etc. made it attractive to the Vikings to have continuity at the head coaching position.

Over his first six seasons as a head coach, there’s one thing we’ve learned about Zimmer that is very likely to translate over to the next era of the roster: He will maximize defensive talent both in results and development.

From 2014-2019 we saw players like Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, Linval Joseph, Anthony Harris and Eric Kendricks reach the fullest of their abilities as non first-round picks and play huge roles in the team consistently ranking in the top 10 on defense (and as high as No. 1 in 2017). Out of the first-round picks on defense — Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr, Harrison Smith and Trae Waynes — three of the four made the Pro Bowl and the other got a significant contract with Cincinnati.

This all bodes well for the Gladneys, Odenigbos, Hugheses, Holton Hills and Cam Dantzlers of the world.

It also gives them a chance to make the playoffs consistently and be in contention for a Super Bowl if everything clicks on offense.

Zimmer’s offenses have varied widely during his time, ranking anywhere from 23rd at worst to eighth at best in points and his worst record was 7-9 in his first year. The team has not been below .500 since then.

Now on the offensive side the Vikings have found someone who can have consistency over the next few seasons under Zimmer in Gary Kubiak. The two old school football minds worked with very good chemistry last year and Kubiak’s offense acted as a perfect fit for quarterback Kirk Cousins.

One of the biggest criticisms of Zimmer in the past was that he couldn’t find an offense that he was happy with aside from Pat Shurmur’s in 2017. Norv Turner resigned in 2016 and Zimmer fired John DeFilippo in 2018.

But Kubiak has become almost a co-head coach, providing insight from his experience beyond just his duties as offensive coordinator.

We know the NFL is a year-to-year league but if Zimmer plays out the entirety of his contract, it will run beyond Cousins’s deal. Over the next few years, the two will be tied together, even if Zimmer’s main focus is the defense. They will be judged on each other’s performance but if Cousins can’t consistently repeat or eclipse what he did last season, Zimmer may have an opportunity to pick his next quarterback down the road.

That’s a long way down the road. For right now, there will be no question in the organization of who is in charge. During his tenure, Zimmer has made the grocery list and the front office has gotten the groceries, to paraphrase an old Bill Parcells saying, and that appears to have continued last offseason with drafting multiple cornerbacks and signing defensive tackle Michael Pierce.

Most importantly for 2020, this deal gives Zimmer some room to operate in case the team struggles with new faces or runs into pandemic-related issues like players missing time due to illness etc. It means that every move in 2020 won’t be judged through the lens of, “is he coming back?”

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