When someone makes a sexist, homophobic joke and it goes too far. What are the consequences?
The “best win songs” is a song that was released by the group, “You Know He’ll Play Music in the Locker Room.” The song is about the team winning and playing music in their locker room.
When an NFL team’s head coach is replaced, the incoming coach is generally the polar opposite of the previous one. In 2022, the Minnesota Vikings are in this situation. Mike Zimmer, a 65-year-old defensive-minded Bill Parcells protégé, was replaced with Kevin O’Connell, a 36-year-old offensive-minded Sean McVay disciple. And Justin Jefferson, the Vikings’ standout wide receiver, seems to be overjoyed.
Mike Zimmer’s time as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings was rocky.
The Vikings have fired both coach Mike Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman, signaling a regime change in Minnesota, according to multiple reports. pic.twitter.com/2gHPUYimXv
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 10, 2022
Mike Zimmer finally landed a head coaching job with the Minnesota Vikings in 2014 after 20 years of coaching in the NFL and 14 seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, and Cincinnati Bengals.
Zimmer has a 72-56-1 regular-season record. His teams never won less than seven games in a season, and just three times did they win double digits. These three seasons with ten or more wins indicate his three appearances in the playoffs (2015, 2017, 2019).
In his three outings, he won two playoff games, one of which being the famous Minneapolis Miracle game against the New Orleans Saints in 2017.
Neither of the last two seasons had gone well. The Vikings went 15-18 in 2020 and 2021 despite having excellent experienced teams and dynamic young offensive weapons like Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook.
Zimmer wasn’t entirely to blame for the difficult stretch. However, he has had some notable run-ins with players and has never gotten the best out of quarterback Kirk Cousins. According to ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin, this includes Stefon Diggs reportedly wanting out after the 2019 season and big-money free agent Bashaud Breeland being released during his first season with the club after “a verbal brawl with coaches and teammates.”
Zimmer had achieved success, but it was time for him to go.
Justin Jefferson appears to be overjoyed that he now has a young, player-friendly coach.
Getty Images/Justin Jefferson | Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire
The Minnesota Vikings, like numerous other NFL clubs in recent seasons, including the AFC Super Bowl champion Cincinnati Bengals, went to Sean McVay’s coaching tree while looking for a new head coach.
Many of his seasoned players are younger than Kevin O’Connell. As a result, he should be a player-friendly coach. Justin Jefferson, a 23-year-old Vikings wideout, seems to be ecstatic about it.
Reporter Will Selva of the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football stated that the “honeymoon period” between Vikings WRs Jefferson and Adam Thielen and O’Connell is “in full swing.” They’re thrilled to have an offensive-minded head coach for the first time in either of their NFL careers.
Jefferson allegedly went on to say that he’s also pleased about O’Connell’s youth and vigor, according to reports.
Jefferson described O’Connell as having a “younger feel.” “You know, he’ll play music in the locker room and in the conference room before the meetings begin.”
While the former LSU Tiger didn’t directly name Mike Zimmer, it’s difficult not to interpret his comments as a veiled jab at his old coach’s old-school methods.
What kind of impact will Kevin O’Connell have on the Minnesota Vikings?
Kevin O’Connell went from a backup quarterback who threw six career passes with the New England Patriots to a head coach in an unbelievable amount of time, in stark contrast to Mike Zimmer’s lengthy, plodding rise up the NFL coaching ladder.
O’Connell was released by the San Diego Chargers before to the 2012 season. For the 2015 season, he was hired to teach the Cleveland Browns quarterbacks. Before joining the Washington Redskins, he spent the next season as an offensive coach with the San Francisco 49ers.
Before becoming the offensive coordinator, the former San Diego State quarterback tutored the quarterbacks (including Kirk Cousins) for two years. In 2020, he moved to Los Angeles to join fellow former Jay Gruden assistant Sean McVay. Before taking the Minnesota Vikings position, O’Connell was his offensive coordinator for two seasons.
It’s easy to see Vikings fans seeing a Midwest version of McVay’s Los Angeles offense. We don’t know whether that’s the case just now. McVay was the main play-caller while O’Connell managed the offense and devised game plans. The same thing happened in Washington, where Gruden was the play-by-play man.
However, it seems like O’Connell will call the plays in Minnesota, since his offensive coordinator is Wes Philips (son of legendary NFL coach Wade), who has mostly worked with tight ends in the league.
In 2021, we’ll see whether O’Connell has the play-calling skills to succeed and please Justin Jefferson and the rest of the team. The fact that Cincinnati Bengals head coach and former LA Rams assistant Zac Taylor didn’t call plays under McVay is the most encouraging evidence that he can do it. He did, however, serve as interim offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and held the same post at the University of Cincinnati.
Pro Football Reference provided all stats.
RELATED: What the Minnesota Vikings’ Offseason Game Plan Should Be in 2022
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