12-10-2017, 03:52 AM
If Mike Zimmer can go 3-1 the rest of the way, he will pass Jerry Burns by a half-game to have the second-best four-year start to his coaching career in Vikings history.Seven Vikings coaches have lasted with the franchise for four full seasons or more: Norm Van Brocklin, Bud Grant, Jerry Burns, Dennis Green, Mice Tice and Brad Childress. Mike Zimmer will join that group in four weeks.
And Zimmer is having great success. As it currently stands, his 36-24 regular-season record in his first four seasons (.600 winning percentage) trails Grant (35-18-3, .652) and Burns (38-25, .603). If Zimmer can go 3-1 the rest of the way, he will pass Burns by a half-game to have the second-best four-year start to his coaching career in franchise history.
Last year was a letdown for Zimmer, the team finishing .500 at 8-8 after a 5-0 start to the season. That came after a 2015 season when the Vikings went 11-5 and came within a missed field goal of winning its wild-card playoff game.
When the team entered this past offseason, it focused on one key issue it felt could solve a world of problems: the offensive line.
Zimmer explained how the Vikings went about that process, which has drastically changed their offense and has them one victory away from clinching a division title.
“The real story is that we tried to find the right guys, tried to find some athletic guys,” Zimmer said. “[General Manager] Rick [Spielman] found [Nick] Easton, he liked him coming out and then he was with a couple other teams and we made a trade with San Francisco. They wanted [linebacker] Gerald Hodges and we got [Easton].
And Zimmer is having great success. As it currently stands, his 36-24 regular-season record in his first four seasons (.600 winning percentage) trails Grant (35-18-3, .652) and Burns (38-25, .603). If Zimmer can go 3-1 the rest of the way, he will pass Burns by a half-game to have the second-best four-year start to his coaching career in franchise history.
Last year was a letdown for Zimmer, the team finishing .500 at 8-8 after a 5-0 start to the season. That came after a 2015 season when the Vikings went 11-5 and came within a missed field goal of winning its wild-card playoff game.
When the team entered this past offseason, it focused on one key issue it felt could solve a world of problems: the offensive line.
Zimmer explained how the Vikings went about that process, which has drastically changed their offense and has them one victory away from clinching a division title.
“The real story is that we tried to find the right guys, tried to find some athletic guys,” Zimmer said. “[General Manager] Rick [Spielman] found [Nick] Easton, he liked him coming out and then he was with a couple other teams and we made a trade with San Francisco. They wanted [linebacker] Gerald Hodges and we got [Easton].
