It didn’t take long after the Vikings’ upset win over the Saints Sunday for head coach Mike Zimmer to have to start answering questions about his future in Minnesota.
“I don’t really want to discuss it, honestly,” Zimmer said Sunday. “Quite honestly I think it’s silly that people were talking about it on a 10-win team that’s 60-percent wins, so, I don’t know. Whatever happens, happens.”
On Thursday, owners Zygi and Mark Wilf issued a statement supporting Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman, saying they expect both to be back in 2020 “and beyond.”
Prior to Sunday’s victory, Zimmer had just one playoff victory as coach of the Vikings, so there was certainly pressure on the 63-year-old to win. Not only that, Zimmer has been the center of speculation that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who fired coach Jason Garrett, could contact the Vikings about trading for Zimmer.
Zimmer was a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator with the Cowboys from 1990-2006, but as Pro Football Talk notes, the win over the Saints “likely means that the price to get him goes up dramatically.”
“Whatever they decide to do, they decide to do,” said Zimmer, who is under contract through 2020.
The Vikings face the 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round Saturday at 3:35 p.m.
