There are many things I didn’t expect in 2020. I was shocked when Kobe Bryant died. I was stunned when school got cancelled last year. But the biggest surprise of all is the Minnesota Vikings being 1-5 seven weeks into the season.

I honest to God thought we were gonna win the Super Bowl. There is a screenshot from my phone all the way from April, locking in my prediction. It was probably a stupid prediction either way, but I just had a feeling.

How do we solve this problem? Well, first we gotta get rid of Kirk Cousins, but that’s a no brainer. Secondly, the Vikings should do something a little bit more drastic in some people’s eye––firing head coach Mike Zimmer.

First off, Mike Zimmer can’t get his teams up for big games. In the Mike Zimmer era, there has been a consistency of the team not showing up when it counts. In 2016, the Vikings started 5-0 and completely flopped going 8-8 and missing the playoffs. In 2017, the Vikings got embarrassed 38-7 in the NFC Championship game against the Eagles.

In 2018, the Vikings had a chance to clinch a playoff spot needing only a win against the Bears. The Bears rested most of their starters that game and yet the Vikes still couldn’t get it done. In 2019, the Vikings were a no-show in the divisional round against the 49ers. Finally, in 2020, the Vikings are sitting here at 1-5, for sure not going to make the playoffs. But in three of their five losses, this season the game was already over by halftime. And in the Seattle game, Mike Zimmer almost single-handedly lost the game for the Vikings by deciding to go for it on 4th down.

To me that shows a lot of problems. A lack of creativity. Failing to make adjustments. Also, I get the sense that this year, more than others, the players aren’t really playing for Mike Zimmer. He has totally lost the locker room, and most players don’t really seem to respect him.

Also, Mike Zimmer could be probably be described by one word: DEFENSE. He has proved to be a great defensive coach, having one of the best defenses in the league back in 2017. But it’s just not there anymore. Now, I will say our defense this year is a lot more inexperienced and less talented than in 2017. This year, at the bare minimum, Mike Zimmer can’t get his defense to be even competitive this year.

In this offense day of age in the NFL, I would rather have an offensive-centered coach than Mike Zimmer. To be honest, Mike Zimmer is a glorified defensive coordinator. It’s no secret that his defense is his baby, and that he pays FAR less attention to the offense than the defense.

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Also, is Mike Zimmer’s defensive scheme even working any more? Like I insinuated, the Vikings’ defense sucks this year. So much so that we’ve given up the most yards in a season up to this point, than any other team in Vikings history. That is due to a lot of his questionable decisions on defense and tossing out the same redundant gameplan. We’ve also seen former Vikings flourish in their new homes. Xavier Rhodes was awful with us last year; now he’s tearing it up in Indianapolis.

Mike Zimmer has also proven to not be able to make in-game adjustments and in-game decisions. Last year against Green Bay on Monday Night Football, Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison were both out, leaving Mike Boone to be the lone healthy running back. Zimmer started to run Mike Boone, like Dalvin Cook had, and Mike Boone got stuffed that game. Because, the guy’s a third string running back, what do you expect? Yet, it took till the game was out of reach, to finally open up the passing game.

I don’t feel confident with Mike Zimmer handling this team’s future. The Vikings aren’t gonna make the playoffs this year. Not only that, but it looks like they are heading towards a rebuild, especially with the recent trade of Yannick Ngakoue. So with all the evidence provided, can fans trust Mike Zimmer with the new era of this Vikings team? Well, the only reason Mike Zimmer is still here is because he got a three-year extension this offseason. I mean do you even trust Mike Zimmer with a young quarterback like Trevor Lawerence? I think they will clash.

Those are my reasons why I think Mike Zimmer isn’t the answer to the Vikings future. I know it can be a little surprising to hear that, especially after the great win against the Packers. But the problems I’ve seen from him just don’t go away after one game. I hope he can turn this team around, but I just don’t think that will happen.