Mike Zimmer Didn't Address Vikings Players After 2022 HC Exit: 'They Got Me Fired'

Ex-Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer had no desire to address the team after he was fired in January 2022. As a matter of fact, the now-Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator still blames his former players for getting canned.

"They asked me if I wanted to address the team," Zimmer told Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "And I said, 'Hell, no. They got me fired.'

"I didn't know I was supposed to go to HR and sign out or whatever. No one told me. I just got all my stuff, got in my truck, and left.

He added: "I can tell you I've not watched one Minnesota game since."

Zimmer also admitted to Craig that he holds grudges, which would explain his feelings toward the organization nearly three years later.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk had a take on the matter.

"The truth is Zimmer got himself fired. He's responsible for the team. And the buck stops with him. (The team isn't the only thing he blames the firing on. He also surely blames G.M. Rick Spielman. Zimmer's quotes about that relationship are strong enough to merit their own blurb.)

"Besides, Zimmer's final roster wasn't all that much different then the roster that went 13-4 the next year. Of course, he might not have noticed."

Some Vikings fans didn't take kindly to Zimmer's remarks.

Zimmer ultimately fared well in Minnesota, going 72-56-1 in eight seasons. The Vikings made the playoffs three times, including an appearance in the 2017 NFC Championship Game.

The Vikings struggled in Zimmer's final two seasons, going 7-9 in 2020 and 8-9 in 2021.

Zimmer is getting a fresh start now, though, on a Cowboys team with talent and Super Bowl aspirations. He's also got plenty of talent to work with, beginning with perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Micah Parsons as well as two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs.