Former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is back in the NFL, as defensive coordinator of the Cowboys. Instead of looking forward, he spent some time recently looking backward, in an interview with Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Fired after eight seasons and a 74-59-1 record (postseason included), Zimmer was asked a question by ownership he learned he was out.
“They asked me if I wanted to address the team,” Zimmer told Craig. “And I said, ‘Hell, no. They got me fired.”
The truth is Zimmer got himself fired. He’s responsible for the team. And the buck stops with him. (The team isn’t the only thing he blames the firing on. He also surely blames G.M. Rick Spielman. Zimmer’s quotes about that relationship are strong enough to merit their own blurb.)
Besides, Zimmer’s final roster wasn’t all that much different then the roster that went 13-4 the next year. Of course, he might not have noticed.
“I can tell you I’ve not watched one Minnesota game since,” Zimmer said.
That will change at some point this year. Although Minnesota isn’t on the Cowboys’ schedule, he’ll surely be watching film of an upcoming opponent from a game they played against the Vikings.
Another person who would get a large slice of blame pie from Zimmer is quarterback Kirk Cousins. It’s actually odd that Zimmer didn’t specifically target Cousins for criticism to Craig, given Zimmer’s true feelings about Cousins. Maybe Zimmer didn’t want to give Cousins any extra motivation for the Week 9 reunion in Atlanta.
The Cousins-Zimmer relationship was best exemplified by a sideline celebration that looked more like the first phase of a street fight, with Cousins shoving Zimmer and Zimmer shoving him back. Vikings’ radio voice Paul Allen made the mistake of accurately observing that, in the moment, Zimmer “snapped.”
“I just didn’t like what PA said,” Zimmer told Craig. “We’re supposed to be friends. Why you got to talk about me? Unfortunately, I hold grudges. That’s just how I am.”
It’s good that he’s aware of it. It’s not good that he refuses to change. It’s probably one of the reasons why it took him so long to get a head-coaching job in the first place.
Regardless, Zimmer’s new boss is happy with his direct, no-holds barred style.
“Zim’s a straight-shooter, not a lot of fluff,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy told Craig. “This generation needs more of it.”
They might need it, but they don’t want it. And they don’t have to put up with it. Plenty of them won’t.
Will it work? It depends on whether the Cowboys win. If they do, the players will take it. If they don’t, he’ll eventually be able to blame them for getting him fired, too.