Mike Zimmer opens up for first time on Vikings tenure, talks issues with front office

When the Minnesota Vikings hired Mike Zimmer as their head coach, it felt like a long time coming. He was a good to great defensive coordinator for the better part of 15 years and the Vikings finally gave him a chance in 2014. He went 74-59-1 as the Vikings head coach but was fired after the 2021 season.

There have been a lot of rumors and stories that have come out about that fateful season for the Vikings in 2021. What we haven't had is Zimmer opening up about that fateful season.

Mike Zimmer talks Rick Spielman and their disconnect

That has changed. Zimmer spoke to The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Mark Craig about his final days in Minnesota and getting back into coaching. His reason for getting back into coaching was simple: Prove he isn't a lousy coach.

Zimmer had never been fired until the Wilfs decided to move on in January of 2022. It has set them on the course they are on now, which has a lot of fans excited. A lot of that excitement has been stalled due to what happened at the end of Zimmer's tenure.

There were a lot of reports about Zimmer and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman not speaking during that final year. The animosity was real between the two and it even had Zimmer walking out during the NFL Draft.

“When he picked Mond, I walked out of the room,” Zimmer tells Craig. “I left the building. I didn’t even talk to him on the phone.”

Personally, I don't blame him. Mond didn't look like an NFL quarterback and there was real frustration from Zimmer about how Spielman handled the third round of that draft. It's especially evident because only edge rusher Pat Jones II made the team in 2022 and beyond.

“Rick said, ‘You mad at me?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think you took four backups when we had guys there I thought were starters,’ ” Zimmer says. “From that time on, it just kind of got worse between us. And I’m not saying nothing was my fault. I’m sure there were plenty of things that were my fault.”

The coolest part of Craig's interview with Zimmer was the revelation that he bought his own excavator and dug a six-acre lake on his Kentucky ranch.

What really struck me about the interview was the honesty and openness that Zimmer showed. He admitted his flaws as a person while sharing the truth about what had happened during his final year. He is primed to have a renaissance in Dallas doing what he does best: Coach the defense.

Related: "We're always trying to learn" Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah open up about 2022 NFL Draft and beyond