The McVay Effect: How does Vikings’ Zimmer stay relevant amid seismic shift in NFL?

[purplefaithful]

Mike Zimmer has a reputation of being one of the most stubborn head coaches in the NFL, a trait that should serve him well as the league continues its seismic shift away from his area of expertise.
It was only a month and a half ago that the 62-year-old Zimmer cited his distaste for the 105 points and 1,001 yards of offense produced together by the Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs in a “Monday Night Football” game.
“Not my cup of tea,” Zimmer said at the time. “It might run me out of football.”
While he hasn’t been run out of the league quite yet, Zimmer might have been on to something back then, as his defensive-minded approach is quickly becoming obsolete in the modern-day NFL as teams search for the next Sean McVay to run the show.
Hired by the Rams at the ripe age of 30 years old, McVay boasts a 24-8 record in two seasons as L.A. head coach. He has used his vast knowledge as an offensive-minded savant to unlock the potential of quarterback Jared Goff, while simultaneously turning the Rams into a legitimate Super Bowl contender that seems to have staying power amid an ever-changing league.
The domino effect it has had on the league is impossible to overlook at this point, according to ESPN analyst Field Yates.
“I’m looking at a window of the last a couple of years,” Yates said. “It came into focus after the hiring of Sean McVay and the immediate success the Rams have had under him. He has become sort of the symbol of how this thing has changed over the past couple of years in the NFL and that’s a credit to him and his brilliance.”
That phenomenon — aka The Sean McVay Effect — has never been more prevelant than this offseason with a bulk of the head coaching vacancies being filled by candidates with an offensive-minded background.
https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/sports/fo...id-seismic

[Guest]

Whether it’s Bruce Arians scoring a job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Adam Gase retreading with the New York Jets, Freddie Kitchens locking down the full-time gig with the Cleveland Browns, Matt LaFleur getting a shot with the Green Bay Packers or Zac Taylor reportedly being the frontrunner with the Cincinnati Bengals, it’s no coincidence that teams have made a concerted effort to hire the best offensive-minded candidate.
That said, no hire illustrates The Sean McVay Effect more than Kliff Kingsbury being named head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, a couple of months after being fired by Texas Tech.
Heck, in the original news release sent out to announce the hiring of Kingsbury, the Cardinals actually emphasized his friendship with McVay, seemingly using that as a selling point to the fan base. That wording has since been changed online.
“There’s nothing that I can say that is going to change that,” Kingsbury said, responding to those critics who think he’s in over his head. “I know it’s about the work that started (on Tuesday) and what we do from this point forward. That’s how I’m attacking that.”
Nonetheless, Kingsbury didn’t deny the fact that his relationship with McVay contributed to landing in his current role.
Neither did LaFleur, who actually thanked McVay in his opening statement after being introduced by the Packers.
“He is a close friend of mine,” LaFleur said. “Just watching him empower everybody around him, from the other coaches to the players, really brings out the best in everybody.”
It’s become a meme at this point. Any sort of connection to McVay is something that can actually set candidates above the rest of the field.

[Guest]

Have you seen this Freddie Kitchens guy? This dude is country bumpkin. I mean, he must do pretty well at his job but wow, he acts like a big doofus. 

[Guest]

Maybe McCarthy can get a job w/ the Rams next season in an attempt to recycle himself...  B)

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@StickyBun said:
Have you seen this Freddie Kitchens guy? This dude is country bumpkin. I mean, he must do pretty well at his job but wow, he acts like a big doofus. 

https://twitter.com/NFLFilms/status/1083...13024?s=19

[Guest]

@Vikergirl said:

@StickyBun said:
Have you seen this Freddie Kitchens guy? This dude is country bumpkin. I mean, he must do pretty well at his job but wow, he acts like a big doofus. 

https://twitter.com/NFLFilms/status/1083...13024?s=19

Well, I for one, am rooting for this doofus. He reminds me of Bum Phillips with the Oilers back in the '70's. At the VERY least, he certainly had a positive impact on Mayfield.......the numbers don't lie.

At least he's not a crotchety ol' bastard that always TALKS about not making excuses, but sure as hell MAKES a lot of excuses (and scapegoats).

He's gotta get at LEAST 4 years before he can be JUDGED, correct? At least that seems to be the Vikings way, for whatever THAT'S worth.

[Guest]

The McVay effect is a media fad.   Rams loaded the roster for him and anyone is an upgrade over Jeff freakin' Fisher.   The longer he is around the more defenses will figure him out.   The NFL game nowadays is more about offense mostly due to rules changes, but in the long term it's the same game it's always been.   What's old is new many times, it's just that people have forgotten most of the history.

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@comet52 said:
The McVay effect is a media fad.   Rams loaded the roster for him and anyone is an upgrade over Jeff freakin' Fisher.   The longer he is around the more defenses will figure him out.   The NFL game nowadays is more about offense mostly due to rules changes, but in the long term it's the same game it's always been.   What's old is new many times, it's just that people have forgotten most of the history.

This.

[Guest]

@comet52 said:
The McVay effect is a media fad.   Rams loaded the roster for him and anyone is an upgrade over Jeff freakin' Fisher.   The longer he is around the more defenses will figure him out.   The NFL game nowadays is more about offense mostly due to rules changes, but in the long term it's the same game it's always been.   What's old is new many times, it's just that people have forgotten most of the history.

Yep and the article posted is already writing off defense and Zimmer as being outdated.  Anyone remember Chicago kicking the snot out of the Rams just a few weeks back?  That was a good old defensive ass whooping.  And the Saints are the #1 seed in the NFC, more on the back of their improved D rather than another great year by Brees. 

So we shall see.  Zimmer's D adjusted to the new rules and played pretty damn well since the Rams game.  If the offense could have fought thru a wet paper bag, we might still be in the thick of it.

[Guest]

I like McVay, but I would like to see him have some
adversity to deal with on offense.


I think teams need to be dominant on both sides but they
should prioritize offense.  I think it’s
just easier to win if you are consistently scoring points.  I think it’s easier to push a little harder
on a dominant offense to get an extra touchdown, than it is hold an opposing
offense under 10-13 when you can’t move the ball at all, but you need
both.  Teams that are one sided aren’t
often likely to make it deep, unless they get lucky with injuries.


That said, I think the idea that McVay means old coaches are
outdated and we need to hire 30 somethings is ludicrous.  I think you’re much more likely to get a JDF
type performance than you are to get a McVay type performance.  McVay doesn’t even have the best offense in
the league.  The best offense in the
league is run by a 60 year old in KC.