For the third time in five years, the Minnesota Vikings made the playoffs but fell short of the ultimate goal of reaching and winning a Super Bowl under coach Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer is now 2-3 in the playoffs after Saturday’s defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. The fact that this is the case despite a 57-38-1 regular season record has led to chatter that the Vikings coach is underachieving when it matters most. Zimmer is clearly frustrated, and admitted that he’s sought help from mentor Bill Parcells over how to get “over the hump” in an hour-long phone call.
“We’ve been to the conference championship, we’ve been to the divisional game, we’ve been in a wild card game where we lost by a field goal and just try to figure out how do we get over this hump of getting to the next level and eventually winning this thing,” Zimmer said Monday, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.
While Zimmer clearly thinks he deserves more credit for the Vikings’ status as regular contenders under him, he’s also very aware that his legacy will be tainted if this is the best he can do in the postseason. Minnesota went 10-6 this season but always moved in the shadow of other NFC playoff teams, and their win over the Saints was a total surprise to many. It may or may not be a coaching thing, but there’s definitely a sense that the Vikings haven’t maximized their talent, and seeking ways to do that from a coach like Parcells is probably not a bad idea for Zimmer.
