Mike Zimmer is here to let fans of the Minnesota Vikings know that he's not going anywhere, anytime soon, thank you very much.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network took to Twitter to announce that he received a text from the team's head coach to put the rumors of his resignation and/or retirement to rest, once and for all.
Text from #Vikings coach Mike Zimmer: "I'm not retiring or resigning. Period." Disappointment still fresh, but multiple team sources tell me they'd be shocked if Zimmer is out. He's under contract for 2019.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 31, 2018
Pelissero also confirmed that Zimmer is under contract to the team until 2019, and that multiple sources would be “shocked” if Zimmer is indeed out.
The rumor about Mike Zimmer's alleged departure was kicked off by a tweet by sportswriter Eric Edholm, who claimed that Zimmer's retirement (forced or otherwise) would be “something to keep an eye on.”
Florio just floated the idea that Mike Zimmer could resign from Vikings. Said it’s “something to keep an eye on.”
Would be a shocking culmination of the past 11 months.
— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) December 31, 2018
This brief speculation period caps off what has proven to be a rather tumultuous season for the team, whose recent loss to the Chicago Bears has eliminated them from playoff contention.
Zimmer currently holds a 47-32-1 record, and had to deal with more than his fair share of drama from his team. When the various “ins and outs” of the Vikings are taken into account, Zimmer's tenure — and record — with the team is all the more impressive.
Nevertheless, it's hard to ignore the fact that Mike Zimmer has had a new starting quarterback for every starting game over the past five years. And despite the fact that the Vikings had an uncharacteristically bad game yesterday, he managed to take the team to NFC North twice and go to the NFC Championship — a feat not accomplished since 2009.
So, while Mike Zimmer hasn't exactly been a perfect coach, he's one of the best coaches that the Vikings have had in a long time, and his loss would definitely be a loss for the entire team.
