The Minnesota Vikings will have their playoff hopes on the line when they face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. But according to multiple reports, it’s possible that Mike Zimmer’s job could be on the line as well.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reports that Vikings ownership is undecided whether to fire Zimmer at the end of the season. While Zimmer is on the hot seat, Rapoport notes that making the playoffs could go a long way in saving his job.
“Mike Zimmer appears to be one of the coaches whose fate has not yet been decided, per sources informed of his situation,” Rapoport wrote. “Winning out and making the playoffs would go a long way toward solidifying his status. Miss the playoffs — for the fifth time in eight seasons — and it would be a decision left to Minnesota’s ownership.”
CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora also listed the Vikings along with the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears as teams preparing to conduct a head coaching search at the end of the season.
“While a final decision has not been made, coaches on all three staffs are bracing as if they might be elsewhere next season, and it would not be surprising to many within those teams if they make a change,” La Canfora wrote. “Within those organizations, background work on potential candidates and what attributes would be most attractive to ownership/management have begun, and all three of these teams harbored playoff expectations entering the season. By the end of play in Week 17 that could be expunged for all of them.”
The Vikings entered this season trying to erase last year’s 7-9 campaign but enter Sunday’s matchup with a 7-8 record and will be eliminated with a loss to the Packers.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the Vikings’ playoff chances dropped to four percent after the Philadelphia Eagles victory defeated Washington Football Team on Sunday afternoon.
After Kirk Cousins tested positive for COVID-19, the Vikings’ task becomes much tougher. But they’ll need to find a way to come away with a win to save their playoff chances and potentially their head coach.
