Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Zimmer welcomes pressure to win in Minnesota
Believe it or not, Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer is already in his sixth season in charge in Minnesota.
Hired by the Vikings in January of 2014, Zimmer has compiled a 48-33-1 record since arriving in town, and has led Minnesota to a pair of NFC North titles.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network visited Zimmer at his Kentucky ranch this offseason for a profile story that ran this week, with Pelissero getting the vibe that Zimmer is ready to handle any challenge that comes his way in 2019 and beyond.
Pelissero wrote:
After a 1-1 start to the season, Zimmer enters Sunday's home game against the Raiders five wins shy of surpassing Jerry Burns for third place among head coaches in Vikings history; the other two are Bud Grant and Dennis Green, whose names are conspicuous on the walls of U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings had the NFC's best record (40-23-1) from 2015 to 2018, despite starting four different quarterbacks in Week 1. Zimmer has spoken many times about what it'd mean to bring Minnesota its first championship (and Zimmer his second, having won one as an assistant with the 1995 Dallas Cowboys) and says he knows they still have a good team.
But the Super Bowl hype of a year ago is gone now, swept away with an uneven offense in quarterback Kirk Cousins' first season with the team, an uninspired Week 17 loss to the rival Bears that cost Minnesota a playoff spot and an 8-7-1 finish with which Zimmer admits he never really came to terms. They dominated the Falcons in all three phases to win this season's opener, then lost 21-16 last week against Green Bay — a game in which Zimmer's defense gave up touchdowns on the Packers' first three possessions and Cousins had three turnovers, renewing cries from fans and the media about the same old problems.