The Minnesota Vikings finally pulled the trigger on a new head coach. He is former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.
This will be Zimmer’s first head coaching job. He’s been with the Bengals since 2008. Prior to that, Zimmer served as Atlanta’s defensive coordinator (2007) and Dallas’ defensive coordinator (2000-2006).
In 2013, the Bengals had the league’s third-ranked defense.
Strangely, the Vikings decided to stick with a defensive guy. Zimmer replaces Leslie Frazier, who was formerly a defensive coordinator himself.
The Lions, meanwhile, went to an offensive guy after canning their coach Jim Schwartz, who had a defensive background. The Lions’ guy was Baltimore offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell.
The Zimmer hire is probably a bit more inspiring than that one.
The Vikings just need to find a quarterback now and maybe they can compete again.