Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer is Tremendously Underrated as a Defensive Mastermind

For the last six seasons, Mike Zimmer has been a truly strong NFL head coach with the Vikings. Accumulating three playoff appearances and two NFC North division titles during his tenure is a pretty good measurement that says that Zimmer is worthy of a head coaching job, but the underlying numbers have even more to say.

Before Zimmer took over in Minneapolis, he came up through the ranks as a defensive coordinator for 13 years before becoming a head coach. These days, Zimmer gets to show his defensive prowess or a bigger scale. Based on the numbers, Zimmer’s defensive mind is still up there with the best of the best.

Since Minnesota has had trouble getting over the hump in the NFC in the past few years, Zimmer’s name is rarely brought up in conversations about the best coaches in the NFL. One thing that has been consistent, though, is Zimmer’s defenses always being near the top of the league statistically.

Even through all of the drama Zimmer has faced, he has still found ways to make Minnesota a really good team year in and year out.

With a few changing parts this year on the defensive side, only time will tell if Zimmer’s defense can emulate what made it so special in 2019. If Zimmer shows he is the defensive mastermind he has been over the past few years, then Minnesota’s unit should be more than fine.