Grading Mike Zimmer's First Season as Vikings Head Coach
Mike Zimmer now has a season under his belt as the Minnesota Vikings head coach. A little context is needed to evaluate and grade the job he did in 2014.
Zimmer took the reins from Leslie Frazier, whose 2013 team went 5-10-1 the year before and had no clarity at the quarterback position. Old hands like Jared Allen, Kevin Williams and Erin Henderson strode out of town.
The team had further losses in Toby Gerhart, Chris Cook, Letroy Guion and John Carlson. The roster would have to be remade primarily with young players.
Then, Zimmer found out how difficult his job would really be when Adrian Peterson was indicted and subsequently suspended for the season after only a single game.
The injury bug bit much harder in 2014, too. Brandon Fusco and Phil Loadholt missed 18 games combined, sending the entire offensive line into a downward spiral.
Rookies who were enjoying success such as Anthony Barr and Jerick McKinnon also suffered season-ending injuries. A broken foot for Matt Cassel rushed Teddy Bridgewater onto the field far sooner than Minnesota had planned.
Keeping in mind the expectations for the 2014 season and the given circumstances, let's analyze Zimmer's performance as a first-year head coach with five different aspects and then wrap it up with a final grade.
Wins and Losses
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With a victory over the Bears in Week 17, Minnesota finished 7-9 for a win percentage of .438. Previous coach Leslie Frazier had a win percentage of .398.
Brad Childress was slightly more successful at .527 but was only at .465 after removing 2009, the season Brett Favre lit the world on fire. Mike Tice finished his Vikings career with a .492 win percentage. It's fair to say that Minnesota has struggled to find a successful coach since Dennis Green.
Tice and Childress each went 6-10 in their first full seasons as head coaches, falling short of Zimmer's mark. Frazier's first season was a 3-13 disaster. Zimmer certainly has a leg up on previous coaches as far as his win-loss record in his first season.
The competitiveness of Zimmer's team should also be commended. It had a point differential of minus-18. The previous four seasons had a combined differential of minus-234. Removing the Christian Ponder debacle of Week 5, Minnesota's differential in 2014 climbs well into the positive values.
The move to Teddy Bridgewater at QB made a big difference too. With the rookie starting, Minnesota's point differential jumps all the way to 20. The Vikings lost only one game by more than one score and won two games by multiple scores with Bridgewater at the helm.
Ultimately, a 7-9 season would have been judged a successful one before the season began, knowing Minnesota would be without Peterson for several games.
Two facts are blots on Zimmer's report card, though.
Minnesota never beat a team that finished with a winning record, with its 31-13 home victory over the Carolina Panthers being the closest thing to it. The 2014 Vikings also went only 1-5 in divisional games, a mark that must improve in 2015 and beyond.
Grade: B
Game Management
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As a first-time head coach, game management became a completely new task for the longtime defensive coordinator. Clock management and fourth-down decisions encompass most of what this refers to.
Zimmer generally took conservative stances when it came to in-game decisions.
On crucial fourth downs, Zimmer chose to either punt the ball or kick field goals too often, sacrificing potential points with conservative decisions.
He also let having a lead impact his decisions too heavily. Zimmer and his entire coaching staff took passive approaches with play-calling, both offensively and defensively.
For example, he called off the dogs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a late lead, and the defense struggled because of it.
The Vikings frequently were unable to finish games in the fourth quarter. Zimmer's decision-making played a part in that too frequently.
Zimmer also needs to be sharper with his timeouts in the future. Minnesota's offense and the coach handled time constraints in questionable fashion more than once, and Zimmer burned timeouts to help himself make fourth-down decisions too often.
The head coach won one of his three challenges in 2014. A bigger sample is needed to evaluate him in reviews.
Overall, Zimmer looked like a first-time head coach in terms of game management. Minnesota should expect improvement in the future simply due to increased repetition and comfort in the role.
Grade: C-
Player Development
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Zimmer's entire career in football had consisted of being a positional coach or a defensive coordinator, until he became the head honcho in Minnesota. Developing players is right in his wheelhouse. His work with young players in the 2014 defense stands out among his most impressive feats.
Anthony Barr seamlessly slid into a new position and became an immediate contributor. He looked far too raw as a prospect for the type of play Zimmer drew out of him as a rookie.
Two others made incredible strides in 2014. Harrison Smith became one of the league's best safeties, improving his Pro Football Focus premium (subscription required) grade by a massive 22.5 points.
Sharrif Floyd also made huge strides with a 28-point improvement. At times late in the season, Floyd looked like a completely new player from the one who struggled as a first-round rookie in 2013.
No job quite matches what Zimmer pulled off with Xavier Rhodes, though. In the cornerback's second year, he performed like a true shutdown player for long stretches. The bond between the two is clearly strong after only a season working together, as Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune attests:
"Xavier Rhodes didn't know Mike Zimmer got choked up talking about him on Sunday but touched on their bond #Vikings pic.twitter.com/7LsFr76aYT
— Master Tesfatsion (@MasterStrib) December 29, 2014"
Zimmer's effect on Rhodes and numerous other players was tangible after a short period of time. The production he pulls out of young players supplies promise for the future.
Grade: A
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Schemes
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The new coaching staff in Minnesota brought about radical schematic changes. Rough patches ensued, but both offensive and defensive units found success in the second half of the season.
Breakdowns in the coverage scheme caused big problems early in the season. In Weeks 3, 4 and 5, Minnesota gave up easy touchdown receptions as a result of coverage busts.
Unfamiliarity with the new scheme, especially its pattern-matching principles, was the root of the problem. Disconnects between cornerbacks and safeties also caused big problems.
Later in the season, those issues cleared up and the defense began humming schematically. Lack of talent undid the Vikings in some key moments, but Zimmer controlled opposing quarterbacks like a puppet on more than one occasion.
Norv Turner's offense falls under Zimmer's umbrella as well. Against talented defenses early in Bridgewater's season, the offensive structure was too inflexible and struggled to compensate for its lack of talent.
With better QB play, Turner's was more and more effective. Moving forward into 2015, bringing Turner back will keep continuity in both the system, and the offense will have its QB back under center. That should pay dividends quickly.
The defensive scheme is Zimmer's baby. It shined against some top offenses in 2014, and its flexibility and aggressiveness were welcome changes from the previous system.
Grade: B+
Defensive Improvement
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In almost every statistical category, the Vikings defense made big strides from 2013 to 2014. Zimmer and his staff were the driving force behind the dramatic improvement. This Minnesota Vikings tweet tells the story:
"We think you'll like what you see here. pic.twitter.com/9XbAds6938
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 2, 2015"
The unit's best players were ones already in town in 2013, too. Zimmer's effect on the defense was swift and strong, and he pulled it off without having to completely revamp the personnel. That can largely be chalked up to his schematic brilliance and coaching ability.
If the Vikings defense takes another forward step in 2015, it will be a playoff-caliber unit. Zimmer's work on his side of the ball in 2014 set the table for that.
Grade: A
Overall
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Zimmer's first season in Minnesota should be looked back upon as a success. It was filled with adversity beyond his control, with little continuity at important positions and the absence of the team's best player. The unit under his full control surpassed expectations and featured measurable growth in key players.
His win-loss record meets reasonable expectations as well. With an effective QB finally at the helm, those expectations should rise in 2015, and Zimmer should be coaching a playoff-contending team in his second season in charge.
The Vikings are finally set up for sustained success.
Overall Grade: B+
Statistics via ESPN.com unless noted otherwise. Coaching records via Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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