FLIP HAS BEEN FIRED!!!

[Tavern_Wino]

Defilippo interview:

Zimmer: Who is one QB you would like to coach?

John D: Well, Mike, it just so happens he is a free agent?

Zimmer: Teddy? Well good, we might work well together.

John D: Haha. Not so much. Someone wayyyy better.

Zimmer: Spill the beans John, who the hell are you talking about, John?

John D: Kirk Cousins. Flipping Kirk is a free agent. Can you believe it??

Zimmer: No way, I'd rather give Teddy 8 million. I'm not selling the farm for that pansy QB from Washington. I don't think he ever beat my defense.

John D: If you want me, I'm pounding the table for Kirk.

Zimmer: Fine. HOWEVER, if we haven't won more than 6 games by week 14 your @ss is fired.

John D: You got a deal. You won't be sorry, Mike. Kirk Cousins is the next Matt Ryan.

Zimmer: Have a good day, John.
Zimmer: (picks up phone) Rick, get your stupid @ss in here. NOW!

The rest is history......

[mansquatch]

Not necessarily - didn't the 2012 Ravens fire their OC in week 14 and then go on to win the super bowl?

Yes. It happened 6 years ago, almost to this day.

FWIW, I hope I'm wrong. It just doesn't seem likely that they'll suddenly go charging into the promise land after this much turmoil. Then again, maybe it will galvanize the club, that is what happened when Wentz went down last last year and Foles played out of his mind.

[mansquatch]

Just to play devil's advocate does anyone think Flip is a scapegoat? He didn't build this oline. Sure, the playcalling could be better but it's hard to sustain drives when you can't run and need extra blockers to give the Qb any time. Can some people please point out specifically what the play-calling issues were and how to not attribute it to Kirk missing a read, Dalvin failing to break a tackle, or the old line not being able to do anything at all?

The game planning and play calling have been brutally bad. That is on Flip. On the OL, that situation is what it is and hasn't changed much since week 1. The guards are the weak spot, at this point though, you would expect the OC to be able to come up with stuff to deal with that problem. Also, for two straight weeks we saw teams take away Diggs and Theilen. Why aren't the other skill players better utilized, most notably Dalvin Cook. Shurmer was able to figure that stuff out.

Also, every time they placed a team with a talented Defensive Front, they failed to call plays to help their OL. Shurmer didn't seem to have this issue either and one could argue that the OL debacle he inherited in 2016 was WORSE than the current issues at Guard.

I do not think anyone is saying JDF was the only problem. My view is that JDF didn't do anything to make things better and in a lot of cases, he made things worse. I think the Buffalo game can placed at least in part on his game planning. Same with the first loss against Chicago. NE is probably fair to put partially on him as well. (everyone knew BB would bracket Thielen and Diggs, it was talked about BEFORE the game in the media.) Yesterday was pretty obviously his mess also.

[PurpleMustReign]

Wasn't Stefanski a holdover from Frasier?

[PacificNorseWest]

Wasn't Stefanski a holdover from Frasier?

Further back...From Childress. He's been with them since '06.

[PurpleMustReign]

Wasn't Stefanski a holdover from Frasier?

Further back...From Childress. He's been with them since '06.

Nice. He should have some continunity with the players then too.

[Cliff]

Apparently Zimmer blocked him from going with Shumur.

I asked Mike Zimmer at the Combine about his decision to block Kevin Stefanski from interviewing to be Pat Shurmur's OC in New York. He cited loyalty as a reason for wanting to keep him on staff. Now Stefanski gets his shot to do what he's always wanted to: call plays.

Link

[Pondering Her Percy]

Wow...lol

The Vikings' slow tumble down the rankings boggles the mind. What's more perplexing is the avoidance of Dalvin Cook. Why in the world does Minnesota ignore the running game ... in close games ... with an RB1 who accelerates through a crease quicker than Twitter blames Kirk Cousins after every bad play? Cook looked plenty rapid the few times he received a handoff in his belly on Monday night. The would-be stud tailback carried the football 13 times for a respectable 55 yards in a game that was 3-0 most of the night. So, game script had nothing to do with nothing. This after getting 9, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10 and 16 carries in his previous eight games. Thank goodness for that Week 1 workload, or else folks might speculate whether there are clauses in his contract about accepting 11 carries or more.

[TSonn]

Not to mention the source of the struggles is still playing QB.

The source of the struggles is still blocking for our QB.

[S197]

Step in the right direction I suppose although Priefer should have been first. JDF didn't draft Mike Hughes, move Remmers to guard, or decide to go into the season with Compton/Gossett.

Sometimes you get short term boosts with coaching changes like when Frasier took over as interim or the Browns without Hue but it's usually short lived. Same when a backup QB comes into a game.

So perhaps they improve against Miami but this really doesn't look like a playoff team to me. There's going to be a lot of soul searching and hopefully off-season moves. It's an absolute travesty how this season was handled from so many angles.

[fiestavike]

HOOOORAY. I am not surprised. Its good to give Stefanski some time to see if he can get on the same page with Cousins now, before next season, so they can get a sense of what to do going forward. If Cousins stinks again you either get a new OC who can mesh with Kirk and/or start getting in position to draft a QB this year or next. If we show some real progress over these games, we do everything we can to build around Cousins now, Improve the line and the RB depth, keep Stefanski.

[808vikingsfan]

Not to mention the source of the struggles is still playing QB.

The source of the struggles is still blocking for our QB.

I somewhat agree. Both are the problem. Just easier to improve one player than 5 or 6.

[Texas Vike]

HOOOORAY. I am not surprised. Its good to give Stefanski some time to see if he can get on the same page with Cousins now, before next season, so they can get a sense of what to do going forward. If Cousins stinks again you either get a new OC who can mesh with Kirk and/or start getting in position to draft a QB this year or next. If we show some real progress over these games, we do everything we can to build around Cousins now, Improve the line and the RB depth, keep Stefanski.

Agree on Stefanski. Bold move to move on from JDF, but I'm glad they did it.

We need to draft a QB in May or the year after. Cousins is OK, but we need a contingency plan. I like Will Grier from WVU; he's projected as a late 1st to 2nd rounder. I'd prefer to invest in OL this season and draft someone next year.

[Purple Domination]

Zimmer's rapidly moving into Lovie Smith territory with OCs. He's now moving on to his 4th in 5 years. Bad sign.

I agree with this in part, but one of the three that "moved on" only did so because he did so well he got a head coaching job. I am curious what the Panthers are saying about Norv after their recent slide (no sarcasm here - I really don't know). Flip was promoted to a position that was way over his head. We took a similar risk with Flip that the Rams took with McVay, but it didn't work out as well for us.

[J. Kapp 11]

Wow, I thought he'd make it until the end of the season but apparently, that sorry performance yesterday was enough.

Zimmer's rapidly moving into Lovie Smith territory with OCs. He's now moving on to his 4th in 5 years. Bad sign.

Jim, I have argued with you about Zimmer practically since he was hired. But I'm starting to change my tune.

Don't get me wrong. DeFilippo was a huge disappointment. He did not come close to taking advantage of the amazing weapons we have at virtually every skill position -- including quarterback, all you Cousins haters. But this is now the second time in three years that our offensive coordinator has been let go. Yes, Norv quit, but does anybody honestly think it wasn't a mutual decision at best?

Mike Zimmer is a great teacher and coach to his players. I truly believe that, and I think that is what has blinded me to him. But I'm realizing now that a head coach also has to manage his staff, and when you consistently run through offensive coordinators like he has, it begs the question as to whether he has the managerial capability. Does he have the people skills? Can he communicate effectively without just bludgeoning people? I'm certainly having my doubts, and in fairness to others who interviewed and rejected him for head coaching positions, that was the concern they had. Add in all the problems we have with special teams, and it's plain to see that the Minnesota Vikings are seriously deficient in the two areas Mike Zimmer doesn't coach. As the head coach, he can't just wash his hands of that.

I honestly would have had more respect for Mike Zimmer if he had waited until the end of the season to fire JDF. If Zimmer is ever going to last as Vikings coach, and if he's ever going to turn this team into a contender, I believe he's going to HAVE to give up calling the defense. He needs to be in charge of the entire thing, and it's obvious to me that he can't do that if he's acting as defensive coordinator. If I were Rick Spielman, I'd mandate it after the season. Stop calling the defense, or look for another job.

Of course, the way this season has gone, Zimmer's seat has to be getting pretty warm. He may not be here come the day after the season.