03-23-2022, 05:09 PM
Quote: @Mike Olson said:
I appreciate the access to inside information. I have a very small window of inside information that occurs rarely. I occasionally know whether a visiting free agent has signed with the Vikings before the media does. Otherwise everything I know is speculative BS pull directly out my arse!@jargomcfargo said:
Oh I figured that’s what you meant. And to that end he wasn’t a bad coach. I wanted to be wrong about him for a long time. I wanted him to prove that his way was the right way. But with guys like that it rarely is. Especially in this day and age.@Mike Olson said:
I appreciate your insight. And to be clear, I wanted him gone before the Wilf's gave him the extension, three years ago or so. No he wasn't a good head coach. He was a defensive coordinator who made a name for himself because he had Dion Sanders and others. Players make coaches more than coaches make players.@jargomcfargo said:
It wasn't all coaching and Zimmer wasn't a bad coach. He had his shortcomings and the Wilf's think they can upgrade. I hope they are right. If riding the Cousins train for another year or two turns out no better than the last couple years, the blame will land squarely on the Wilf's themselves for making poor decisions. Other than Tom Moore and a few others to a smaller degree I am probably one of the only ones here to see him up close with the team. Both at training camp and at on the road games. For me, and people likely remember my incessant calling out of Zimmer, the wheels started coming off years ago.
He is not a good head coach. And it isn’t even close. He is terrible because he cannot relate to other people. And different parts he is worse than others to varying degrees.
The first red flag was Norv Turner. That SHOUKD have been en eye opener. But we all wanted to believe that he was the stoic, hard nosed, In the mold of Bud Grant, coach that we needed. We thought he knew the direction he wanted to go and good for him.
Then there was the kickers. My god the lickers. The way he treated them. And it just kept getting worse. In the media he would sometimes say the right things but man….
Diggs. I said it when he started acting strange that he was not happy with the direction of the offense and that was directly related to Zimmer. Most people thought it was a problem with cousins. And that may be partly true. But we know that Zimmer was having nothing to do with Cousins and we also know that Zimmer wanted the offense run a certain way. No wonder why Diggs was so cryptic in his actions back then. Zimmer was still beloved to the fan base and the coaching world at large. Not a good idea to blast a coach in the media and still want to have a career.
The “miracle” game was the last straw for me. Despite the awesome fairy tale ending of that game, the second half of the game showed me that the Saints had his defense figured out. He could do nothing to stop it, and only a lucky miss by a defender got us to the NFCCG. The next week the eagles showed us everything they had learned watching us play the Saints.
That continued on and off for years. He rarely was able to make in game adjustments from then on out. Even when his defense was struggling mightily he would never adjust. Not on defense, not on offense. That is the epitome of poor head coaching. If the head coach consistently cannot put his team in position to succeed or even compete….He has failed at his job.
Fir me I honestly believe his biggest problem was ego. Having watched him on the field up close or close-ish. I can honestly say I thought the guy had a piss poor attitude. Maybe I am wrong but that’s the impression that I got from him.
There was a reason he couldn't get a head coaching job, but Spielman hired him anyway.
When I say he wasn't a bad coach, I meant as a defensive coordinator. But he didn't elevate the Bengals to a contending team none the less.
Despite that, I still feel there were issues with the roster that contributed to the Vikings morass. How can you justify Breeland as a starter, along with a decade of inept players on the offensive line? Elfline, Dozier, even Bradbury for that matter. Those are on Spielman.
So I have agreed with you all along that Zimmer needed replaced. And I'm grateful to hear my speculation confirmed by your actual experience.
Oh well we are off to a new era and I don’t think any of us know what will unfold with this new regime.
I just hope for those old fans like PurpleFaithful it clicks soon for them….
Just kidding PF! I threw that in there to see how closely you are reading the forums! =P
