2022 NFL Draft: 5 coaches who could be fired before the 2022 NFL Draft

Mike Zimmer, Minnesota Vikings

Mike Zimmer had a strong start with the Minnesota Vikings, going 11-5 and making the playoffs in just his second season. Over his first six seasons, the Vikings made three playoff appearances, finished below .500 just once (his first season) and posted an overall record of 57-38-1.

The 2017 season was the height of Zimmer’s tenure, going 13-3 and nearly making the Super Bowl as the host city. However, since the arrival of Kirk Cousins the Vikings have fallen short of expectations.

The Vikings posted a 7-9 record last season, the worst since Zimmer’s first season, and will again have a losing record this year. While one or two games below .500 isn’t awful, Zimmer and company have fallen short of the bar they set early in his tenure.

Part of Zimmer’s woes could be attributed to losing coaches from his staff, most notably Kevin Stefanski taking the job in Cleveland prior to Minnesota’s first losing season since 2014.

Now, Zimmer hasn’t been awful. Like I said, one or two games below .500 is far from worst case scenarios. However, the Vikings might be ready for a change. This is similar to the Detroit Lions’ situation with Jim Caldwell following the 2017 season. Caldwell had just one losing season in Detroit, but just couldn’t get over the hump. That seems to be the case for Zimmer, plus some regression.

Minnesota has the offensive weapons in Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook. Cousins will enter the final year of his deal in 2022, so the Vikings could look to try and find a different coach to cash in on their investment.