Mike Zimmer Signs 3-Year Contract Extension with Vikings

[Kentis]

Well it’s done... B)
EAGAN, Minn. — Head Coach Mike Zimmer signed a three-year contract extension with the Vikings, the team announced Friday.
Zimmer's extension places him under contract with the team through 2023.
https://www.vikings.com/news/mike-zimmer-contract-extension-nfl-multi-year

[Guest]

3 years aint a long time...

Yr 1: Pandemic
Yr 2: Hopefully no Pandemic
Yr 3: Probably his last one?

[Guest]

@purplefaithful said:
3 years aint a long time...

Yr 1: Pandemic (1st Pandemic Super Bowl win)
Yr 2: Hopefully no Pandemic (1st post-pandemic Super Bowl)
Yr 3: Probably his last one? (3rd in a row Superbowl, Zimmer retires - end scene)

3 for the trophy case at U.S. Bank. 

[Guest]

Now sign Rick to his lifetime contract.  :p

[Guest]

Mike Zimmer on new deal: “I always felt like this was going to get done”A year ago, Mike Zimmer opened the season with a contract that gave the Vikings coach little to no security. Zimmer would work under an agreement that ran through the 2020 season, making it very easy for ownership to sever ties with him if the Vikings missed the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
That did not happen. In Kirk Cousins’ second season as the Vikings’ quarterback, the team went from a disappointing 8-7-1 finish in 2019 to a 10-6 record that earned Minnesota a wild card berth and included an upset victory in New Orleans before a one-sided loss at San Francisco.
What was interesting was that it still took several months of negotiations before the Vikings committed to Zimmer. That commitment turned out to be a substantial one. Zimmer signed a three-year extension this week that won’t kick in until after he’s coached under the season of his contract that already remained. Zimmer, who turned 64 on June 5, is now under contract until he turns 67.
“When we started talking about the negotiations, we felt like (it) was very important to me,” Zimmer said of getting a multiyear contract instead of another one-year extension. “Partly because of my age. If I go one more year and I’m 66 or something (when I leave) my chance of being a head coach somewhere else would probably not be as good. I wanted to be here with the Vikings, I wanted to be here with the group that we’ve put together. The front office, the coaches and the players. So that was important to me that we were able to do that and sometimes that takes a little bit of negotiation. … In the long run, I think it was the perfect scenario for us.”
Zimmer, who spoke to the media on a videoconference call Saturday afternoon, said negotiations were handled by his agent and Vikings chief operating officer Andrew Miller, who took over for Kevin Warren last August. But Zimmer also made it sound as if the brakes were put on negotiations this spring, in part because of the coronavirus pandemic that wiped out in-person OTAs and minicamps and will now impact training camp. That will include no NFL preseason games.
“We decided, let’s wait until after the draft and see how that goes from there,” Zimmer said of the talks. “Then time gets closer and closer. You get antsy and you want to get something done. (Ownership) did, too, they wanted to get something done and we had some hard negotiations there and some of the parts of the contract that took a little bit longer than we anticipated. But there really wasn’t any time I didn’t feel like it was going to get done. I always felt like this was going to get done, and it just took a little bit longer based on some of the outside things that happened.”
Zimmer has taken the Vikings to the playoffs three times in six seasons, including to the 2017 NFC championship game. With little time to prepare for this season, Zimmer will be leading a team that has lost five defensive starters, nine players from the defensive side of the ball total and will have 15 draft picks coming into training camp. Rookies and quarterbacks reported to camp on Thursday and the rest of the team is due to report on Tuesday.
The feeling is that Zimmer might have wanted more time on his contract because the 2020 season could be, in part, a rebuilding one for the Vikings. If he had only been given a one-year extension through 2021, it would have been easy to fire him if this season was a disappointment. Zimmer, not surprisingly, isn’t buying into thinking he has the luxury of time.
“I’m not very patient, so I don’t know if I’m going to worry about that too much,” he said. “We’re going to try and get these guys ready to go very, very fast. Patience probably isn’t my best virtue.”
Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, who likely also will be getting a contract extension that matches Zimmer’s, if he hasn’t already, said: “There’s no question from our ownership on down that he is the right head coach for this organization to get us to our ultimate goal and that ultimate goal is winning the Super Bowl.”
As for how long he would like to coach, Zimmer said he is just focused on the now.
“I don’t want to make any decisions like that,” he said. “I feel great. I love being around the players, I love going out on the field, I love game planning and doing all the things that you’ve got to do to get ready for the season. I think that when it gets to that time we’ll all make a decision. Either I’m coaching really good or I’m coaching really bad, and then we’ll decide how I’m feeling and go from there. This is a great opportunity that we have to continue to keep taking swings at what we need to swing at.”


https://www.skornorth.com/2020/07/mike-z...-get-done/

[Guest]

It's kind of funny how this is where he wanted to be,  and knew it would get done,  but at this time last year he was cocky about if he didnt get extended he already had other offers ,  to a few weeks ago he was getting a little crabby about the inactivity on a new deal.

Glad it's done,  but the journey still  leaves some questions to his security imo.

[Guest]

Mike Zimmer's contract extension reinforces his long-term approach

A long-term outlook was one of Mike Zimmer’s priorities once his agent started the process of his three-year contract extension. Zimmer wanted to be signed through at least the 2023 season, after which he’ll turn 68, to increase the chances of ending his career with the Vikings. He added Saturday he has not yet determined how long he’ll coach.
“That was very important to me, partly because of my age,” Zimmer said via video conference Saturday, a day after finalizing his new contract. “If I go two more years, I’ll be 66 or something. My chance of being a head coach somewhere else would be not as good. So, I wanted to be here with the Vikings. I wanted to be here with the group we’ve put together.”
Tying the knot took some long talks, according to Zimmer, who acknowledged the process dragged out longer than he expected. Andrew Miller, the team’s new chief operating officer, handled negotiations, which did not pick up steam until after the NFL draft in late April, when the pandemic started shrouding the season.
“I’m not the most patient guy. It took a while to get started,” Zimmer said. “Time gets closer and closer, you get antsy and want to get something done. They did, too. They wanted to get something done. We had some hard negotiations there, and some of the parts of the contract took a little longer than we anticipated. There wasn’t any time where I didn’t feel like it was going to get done.”
This Vikings team, in Zimmer’s seventh year in Minnesota, might also require a long-term outlook.
Zimmer turned Saturday to mapping out the team’s camp schedule, which could not be finalized until Friday’s agreement between the NFL and NFLPA on key issues, including camp structure. Meetings remain virtual until players register two negative coronavirus tests, taken three days apart. Even in-person sessions will be limited in capacity to, for instance, an offensive group meeting of about 40. Teamwide meetings will remain virtual.
Zimmer is focused on quickly developing a young roster with 15 draft picks. Every NFL team is limited to 14 padded practices until the regular season. Without preseason games, the Vikings will push the intensity of those practices, according to Zimmer, including creating more game-like situations. The first padded practice can be held Aug. 17.
“Number one, we’re going to have live contact,” Zimmer said. “Our younger guys against our better guys and try to evaluate those players in those situations.”
Zimmer said he’s also focused on finding ways for players to bond, since many will be meeting each other in person for the first time this week.
“Trying to get some team chemistry, I think, is going to be important as well,” he said. “So, we’re very fortunate to have so much space in [TCO Performance Center] that we can have some meetings that aren’t virtual.”
Running back Dalvin Cook is expected to report to camp Tuesday, according to Zimmer, after threatening to continue his holdout amid contract negotiations. Zimmer said Saturday he’d heard directly from Cook about the running back’s intentions, which led Cook’s agent, Zac Hiller, to deny hours later in a statement that Cook had spoken to Zimmer about camp. While Cook didn’t share his intentions with Zimmer, he did with his position coach, according to NFL Media, and is expected to report after all.
More roster uncertainty awaits Zimmer, who acknowledged the challenge of losing three starting cornerbacks this offseason. Mike Hughes, who has appeared in 20 games with five starts, is the Vikings’ most experienced player at that position.
This Vikings season will be unlike any other for Zimmer, but he has dealt with plenty of adversity in the past.
“My first year, I had my running back [Adrian Peterson] suspended in the second game. Nobody knew that was going to happen,” Zimmer said. “Teddy [Bridgewater] blows his knee out. [Sam] Bradford, you know. Everson [Griffen] misses a game. There’s so many things that happen that kind of callous you.
“My eye, missing the game, the eight surgeries,” Zimmer continued. “When [players] get a guy hurt, they understand that’s part of the game, and they’ll understand if a guy misses two weeks because he tests positive for COVID.”
https://www.startribune.com/zimmer-s-con...571908542/

[Guest]

@JimmyinSD said:
It's kind of funny how this is where he wanted to be,  and knew it would get done,  but at this time last year he was cocky about if he didnt get extended he already had other offers ,  to a few weeks ago he was getting a little crabby about the inactivity on a new deal.

Glad it's done,  but the journey still  leaves some questions to his security imo.

He's going to be 68 after this one...Would be a shocker to me if he continues after this contract.   

[Guest]

@purplefaithful said:

@JimmyinSD said:
It's kind of funny how this is where he wanted to be,  and knew it would get done,  but at this time last year he was cocky about if he didnt get extended he already had other offers ,  to a few weeks ago he was getting a little crabby about the inactivity on a new deal.

Glad it's done,  but the journey still  leaves some questions to his security imo.

He's going to be 68 after this one...Would be a shocker to me if he continues after this contract.   

i was a little surprised he wanted this one... sure there is unfinished business,  but despite his success he far to often seems to not really be having a lot of fun.

[Guest]

@JimmyinSD said:
It's kind of funny how this is where he wanted to be,  and knew it would get done,  but at this time last year he was cocky about if he didnt get extended he already had other offers ,  to a few weeks ago he was getting a little crabby about the inactivity on a new deal.

Glad it's done,  but the journey still  leaves some questions to his security imo.

I get the frustration at the uncertainty. Also when anyone is trying to confirm that a job is officially offered and clarifying the terms, a range of emotions can be had. He said he wanted to be here and maybe was cocky and crabby, all of that can be true.