Zimmer explains decision to keep QBs coach Stefanski
When the Minnesota Vikings hired John DeFilippo as their offensive coordinator it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that current QBs coach Kevin Stefanski would be on the move.
Instead the Vikings blocked Stefanski, who had interviewed for Minnesota’s OC opening, from interviewing for an OC position with the New York Giants.
Head coach Mike Zimmer took some heat for blocking the long-time Vikings assistant from advancing his career. At the Combine on Thursday Zimmer talked about his call to keep Stefanski around.
“ I get criticized for blocking guys and stuff like that, but loyalty to me is a big thing,” Zimmer said.
Stefanski has been on the Vikings’ staff for 12 seasons. He has worked as running backs, tight ends and quarterbacks coach in the last three years.
“I come in here four years ago and the offense is 29, 27th, 26th but I keep them,” Zimmer said. “So the first time our offense is pretty good, then I’m supposed to let all my coaches leave? I don’t think that’s right. If I’m going to be loyal to them and not fire them after they don’t have good years, then I don’t think they should not be loyal to me.”
The Vikings’ new offensive coordinator will keep some things the same from Pat Shurmur’s time at the helm. It won’t be until they have a quarterback in place that the team fully forms its offensive plan.
“We’re going to try to figure out the quarterback first,” Zimmer said. “And then we’ll adjust the offense. All the offense will have some, regardless of who the quarterback is going to be, is going to have some similarities. Some certain aspects of it that after that – ‘OK this guy doesn’t do this good, let’s throw this out.’”
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
Zimmer is full of crap.
When Zimmer arrived in 2014 they proceeded to sign Linval Joseph, Captain Munnerlyn, Terrence Newman, draft Anthony Barr, Trae Waynes, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Mackenzie Alexander. Prior to him arriving they had added Smith, Rhodes, and Floyd. That is 4 first rounders, 2 second rounders, 1 third rounder, two top free agents, and a veteran CB who knew his system.
Meanwhile, they had at least drafted Diggs & Bridgewater, had a struggling Kalil and CP84, and then drafted two horrible tackles in the 4th round in Clemmings and Beavers.
When they finally added two good free agent tackles, drafted a top guard, and drafted Cook, with the development of Thielen the offense did much better.
For Zimmer to quote the rankings of the offense and complain while they did very little to really improve that side of the ball (Boone and Smith were not upgrades) is basically bull crap.
You cannot make chicken salad out of chicken you know what!
Wow, Zimmer is being uncharacteristically testy and defensive lately. Makes you wonder if he didn't take some heat for that defensive breakdown in the NFCC.
@"MaroonBells" said: Wow, Zimmer is being uncharacteristically testy and defensive lately. Makes you wonder if he didn't take some heat for that defensive breakdown in the NFCC.listen to the interview with PA at the combine. he was very sensitive about the last 6 quarters criticism. brought it up a couple times to defend himself
@"PSBLAKE" said:Interesting. Yeah, I haven't heard or read the actual interview, just the bites. As much as I like Mike, the talent is there. There's more young talent on this defense than anywhere else in the NFL. And I'd say that every breakdown we've had recently. NFCC, Carolina, even going back to that opening day loss to the 49ers back in '15, those were coaching breakdowns in my opinion.@"MaroonBells" said: Wow, Zimmer is being uncharacteristically testy and defensive lately. Makes you wonder if he didn't take some heat for that defensive breakdown in the NFCC. listen to the interview with PA at the combine. he was very sensitive about the last 6 quarters criticism. brought it up a couple times to defend himself
Injuries have a lot to do with the Vikes D toward the end of season, and into the playoffs. They literally had no middle push collapsing the pocket either. I'm not sure why Hunter wasn't consistent, but I think without a healthy Griff, it was noticable the pass D wasn't the same.
The D against the run suprised me. The 2017 team was very much improved against rushing attacks. I'll give Zim all of credit for that.
@"MarkSP18" said: Zimmer is full of crap.Not sure who is full of crap. He was asked about Stefanski. He mentioned he kept him on from the previous regime, has kept him on when the offense struggled but now should automatically let him move on when the offense has one good year?When Zimmer arrived in 2014 they proceeded to sign Linval Joseph, Captain Munnerlyn, Terrence Newman, draft Anthony Barr, Trae Waynes, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Mackenzie Alexander. Prior to him arriving they had added Smith, Rhodes, and Floyd. That is 4 first rounders, 2 second rounders, 1 third rounder, two top free agents, and a veteran CB who knew his system.
Meanwhile, they had at least drafted Diggs & Bridgewater, had a struggling Kalil and CP84, and then drafted two horrible tackles in the 4th round in Clemmings and Beavers.
When they finally added two good free agent tackles, drafted a top guard, and drafted Cook, with the development of Thielen the offense did much better.
For Zimmer to quote the rankings of the offense and complain while they did very little to really improve that side of the ball (Boone and Smith were not upgrades) is basically bull crap.
You cannot make chicken salad out of chicken you know what!
Maybe losing his OC is enough change for 1 year and he wanted some continuity.
@"greediron" said:@"MarkSP18" said: Zimmer is full of crap.When Zimmer arrived in 2014 they proceeded to sign Linval Joseph, Captain Munnerlyn, Terrence Newman, draft Anthony Barr, Trae Waynes, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Mackenzie Alexander. Prior to him arriving they had added Smith, Rhodes, and Floyd. That is 4 first rounders, 2 second rounders, 1 third rounder, two top free agents, and a veteran CB who knew his system.
Meanwhile, they had at least drafted Diggs & Bridgewater, had a struggling Kalil and CP84, and then drafted two horrible tackles in the 4th round in Clemmings and Beavers.
When they finally added two good free agent tackles, drafted a top guard, and drafted Cook, with the development of Thielen the offense did much better.
For Zimmer to quote the rankings of the offense and complain while they did very little to really improve that side of the ball (Boone and Smith were not upgrades) is basically bull crap.
You cannot make chicken salad out of chicken you know what!
Not sure who is full of crap. He was asked about Stefanski. He mentioned he kept him on from the previous regime, has kept him on when the offense struggled but now should automatically let him move on when the offense has one good year?
Maybe losing his OC is enough change for 1 year and he wanted some continuity.
blocking the move may not have been the politically correct thing to do, but its likely the best move for the team... and thats what Zims primary driver should be IMO.
I have yet to see it written anywhere that Stefanski is upset/angry/disappointed that he wasn't allowed to interview for that Giants job. For all we know he may not have even wanted the job. He's been with the Vikings for 12 years and maybe he has an advancement opportunity coming his way soon with them and is willing to wait for that opportunity.
@"prairieghost" said: I have yet to see it written anywhere that Stefanski is upset/angry/disappointed that he wasn't allowed to interview for that Giants job. For all we know he may not have even wanted the job. He's been with the Vikings for 12 years and maybe he has an advancement opportunity coming his way soon with them and is willing to wait for that opportunity.
Do you think he liked getting passed over for Flip?
@"Purplewhizz" said:@"prairieghost" said: I have yet to see it written anywhere that Stefanski is upset/angry/disappointed that he wasn't allowed to interview for that Giants job. For all we know he may not have even wanted the job. He's been with the Vikings for 12 years and maybe he has an advancement opportunity coming his way soon with them and is willing to wait for that opportunity.
Do you think he liked getting passed over for Flip?If I say he did am I wrong? If you say he didn't are you right??
We.don't.know. Is the short answer. All I'm saying is that there's just as much possibility that he isn't upset about this opportunity with the Giants as there is that he is...and if he IS disappointed I doubt we'll ever know for a certainty. The possibility does exist that he may be fine with this decision and the long-term picture for his career and nobody on this board can deny that.
@"Purplewhizz" said:@"prairieghost" said: I have yet to see it written anywhere that Stefanski is upset/angry/disappointed that he wasn't allowed to interview for that Giants job. For all we know he may not have even wanted the job. He's been with the Vikings for 12 years and maybe he has an advancement opportunity coming his way soon with them and is willing to wait for that opportunity.
Do you think he liked getting passed over for Flip?
we dont know what went on behind closed doors. it has happened before that teams have blocked an interview because the candidate didnt want to appear uninterested, but it wasnt the opportunity they were looking for so the team played the bad guy when it was actually the coach. If Flipper is who we hope he is, Stefanski will be in a great position in a year or 2 at the most to take over the Vikings job when it once again comes open. Hell some specualate that Zim is close to the end (not me, but some) maybe Flipper becomes HC and Stefanksi gets the OC job that way. Or maybe hes pissed as hell and will spike the gatorade with tear drops and laugh his ass off as our players shit themselves.
@"greediron" said:@"MarkSP18" said: Zimmer is full of crap.When Zimmer arrived in 2014 they proceeded to sign Linval Joseph, Captain Munnerlyn, Terrence Newman, draft Anthony Barr, Trae Waynes, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Mackenzie Alexander. Prior to him arriving they had added Smith, Rhodes, and Floyd. That is 4 first rounders, 2 second rounders, 1 third rounder, two top free agents, and a veteran CB who knew his system.
Meanwhile, they had at least drafted Diggs & Bridgewater, had a struggling Kalil and CP84, and then drafted two horrible tackles in the 4th round in Clemmings and Beavers.
When they finally added two good free agent tackles, drafted a top guard, and drafted Cook, with the development of Thielen the offense did much better.
For Zimmer to quote the rankings of the offense and complain while they did very little to really improve that side of the ball (Boone and Smith were not upgrades) is basically bull crap.
You cannot make chicken salad out of chicken you know what!
Not sure who is full of crap. He was asked about Stefanski. He mentioned he kept him on from the previous regime, has kept him on when the offense struggled but now should automatically let him move on when the offense has one good year?
Maybe losing his OC is enough change for 1 year and he wanted some continuity.
Zimmer mentioned specifically the ranking of the offensive unit. Here is what he said ...“Should I start on my pet peeve stuff now?” he said. “I get
criticized for blocking guys and stuff like that, but loyalty, to me, is
a big thing, right? So I come in here four years ago and the offense is
29, 27th, 26th. But I keep them. So the first time our offense is
pretty good, then I’m supposed to let all my coaches leave? I don’t
think that’s right. If I’m going to be loyal to them and not fire them
after they don’t have good years, then I don’t think they should not be
loyal to me.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------So he mentions the rankings of the offense from 2014 thru 2016, and does not mention the fact that AP got himself suspended in 2014 and then injured in 2016, and does not mention how the team was adding HIGH draft picks and GOOD free agents to his defense during that time span.
The offense was being put together with duct tape basically and they were trying to bring along a rookie QB.
So yeah, he is full of crap for talking about the rankings without mentioning any context.
It is easy for him to be proud of his defense when you look at all the first and second round picks he has on that side of the ball.
If Stefanski had a chance for a promotion to OC then he should have let him go. Period.
Stefanski, of all people, has shown his loyalty to the Vikings having worked his way up since 2006.
I really do not care too much about him letting him interview with the Giants but his excuse is terrible and shows he is trying to feed the sheep some BS story.
It's a rationale. Not that it makes a lot of sense. Probably just public cover for the real reason which is keeping him as an OC option if/when DeFilippo leaves after one year which seems probable.
@"comet52" said: It's a rationale. Not that it makes a lot of sense. Probably just public cover for the real reason which is keeping him as an OC option if/when DeFilippo leaves after one year which seems probable.Probably. I apologize for my little rant though.
I think it could be something more positive to be honest.
I believe there could be one part of Zimmer's thinking where he believes JDF could get a head coaching gig real soon and then he would have to look for another OC. So maybe he wants to keep Stefanski around in that case?
I think this is very possible and probable.
@"MarkSP18" said:@"greediron" said:@"MarkSP18" said: Zimmer is full of crap.When Zimmer arrived in 2014 they proceeded to sign Linval Joseph, Captain Munnerlyn, Terrence Newman, draft Anthony Barr, Trae Waynes, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Mackenzie Alexander. Prior to him arriving they had added Smith, Rhodes, and Floyd. That is 4 first rounders, 2 second rounders, 1 third rounder, two top free agents, and a veteran CB who knew his system.
Meanwhile, they had at least drafted Diggs & Bridgewater, had a struggling Kalil and CP84, and then drafted two horrible tackles in the 4th round in Clemmings and Beavers.
When they finally added two good free agent tackles, drafted a top guard, and drafted Cook, with the development of Thielen the offense did much better.
For Zimmer to quote the rankings of the offense and complain while they did very little to really improve that side of the ball (Boone and Smith were not upgrades) is basically bull crap.
You cannot make chicken salad out of chicken you know what!
Not sure who is full of crap. He was asked about Stefanski. He mentioned he kept him on from the previous regime, has kept him on when the offense struggled but now should automatically let him move on when the offense has one good year?
Maybe losing his OC is enough change for 1 year and he wanted some continuity.
Zimmer mentioned specifically the ranking of the offensive unit. Here is what he said ...“Should I start on my pet peeve stuff now?” he said. “I get
criticized for blocking guys and stuff like that, but loyalty, to me, is
a big thing, right? So I come in here four years ago and the offense is
29, 27th, 26th. But I keep them. So the first time our offense is
pretty good, then I’m supposed to let all my coaches leave? I don’t
think that’s right. If I’m going to be loyal to them and not fire them
after they don’t have good years, then I don’t think they should not be
loyal to me.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------So he mentions the rankings of the offense from 2014 thru 2016, and does not mention the fact that AP got himself suspended in 2014 and then injured in 2016, and does not mention how the team was adding HIGH draft picks and GOOD free agents to his defense during that time span.
As opposed to this year when it was Cook who missed most of the season?
Philly did the same thing last year when they blocked Defilippo from being contacted while under contract. I don’t think its uncommomn for this to happen in the NFL.
I'm certain this isn't uncommon. That said, this particular passage just comes across as incredibly salty:
"If I’m going to be loyal to them and not fire them after they don’t have good years, then I don’t think they should not be loyal to me.”
Isn't allowing the guy to get a promotion and potentially earn more money, increase his brand etc being loyal to them?
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