The Minnesota Vikings introduced Mike Zimmer as the ninth head coach in franchise history at a press conference Friday morning.
Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman spoke highly of Zimmer, pointing to his passion, intelligence and leadership.
“Talking to his former coaches, talking to former players, talking to agents who had players play for him, there was not one negative thing said about Mike Zimmer,” Spielman said. “Every person, to a man, said how much they love playing for Coach Zimmer.”
Rick Spielman: "He is going to coach hard and push us as hard as he can. There is no doubt in my mind that we found the right guy."
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 17, 2014
“I want Vikings football to be tough, smart,” Zimmer said. “I want our fans to be proud of the way we play — tough, resilient, physical football. I’m determined to bring a championship to Minnesota. I can’t wait to get to work.”
This is Zimmer’s first opportunity in the NFL as a head coach. He’s been passed over multiple times, and he has a chip on his shoulder because of it.
“I’m determined to bring a championship to Minnesota,” Zimmer said, via Pro Football Talk. “I’ve got a chip on my shoulder. I want to make sure that 31 other teams know that I’m here and I’m ready to coach this football team.”
Recent reports speculated that Zimmer was passed over for previous head coaching jobs because he has a knack for being blunt, based on how he was portrayed on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” – a reality series that follows NFL teams through training camp.
Zimmer: 'Hard Knocks' can kind of portray you any way they want to. "All I want to do is make each player better."
— RandBall (@RandBall) January 17, 2014
Zimmer plans on bringing a tough mentality to the team. “When you play the Minnesota Vikings you’re gonna have a full days work,” he said. “I want to hit the quarterback.”
The defensive approach will resemble what Zimmer did in Cincinnati, where the Bengals were one of the NFL’s best teams at putting pressure on quarterbacks and doing a good job of stopping both the run and pass. The Bengals finished with a top three scoring defense in each of the last two seasons.
“I’ve run the 4-3, I’ve run the 3-4, and as long as everyone is on the same page and do it to the best of their abilities, you can win games,” Zimmer said, via the Star Tribune. “If you don’t make mistakes, you can win football games.”
Zimmer came off as a very tough, motivated man. Especially when he expressed how confident he is in his abilities to lead a team.
Zimmer: "I'm pretty good at my job. I'm pretty good at what I do." #Vikings
— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) January 17, 2014
But the softer side of Zimmer came out when he was asked about his wife, Vikki, who passed away from natural causes in 2009.
Zimmer on his wife Vikki, who passed away in 2009: "She would be real proud today… she'd be real proud today." #Vikings
— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) January 17, 2014
Watch Zimmer’s entire press conference right here.
