The Vikings hired Rick Spielman to be their Vice President of Player Personnel in 2006 and he took over full GM duties in 2012. Leslie Frasier was the incumbent when Spielman was promoted. Frasier was Brad Childress’ defensive coordinator and replaced Childress when the Vikings fired him in 2010.
Rick Spielman hired one head coach during his time as general manager of the Minnesota Vikings. Mike Zimmer, a former defensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals. Things end quite poorly and on his media tour Rick continues to take what feels like veiled shots at his only coach.
When asked on The Herd on Fox Sports Radio what type of coach he’d be looking to hire offensive or defensive Spielman found his way towards his biggest issue with Zimmer.
“I think the No. 1 thing you’re looking for is that head coach has to have a relationship with that quarterback,” he told Colin Cowherd in a recent interview, “and can a defensive head coach connect with that quarterback? Now, you know an offensive coach might not be able to because that’s his job.”
Spielman’s answer is likely anything but unintentional.
After being blown out 38-7 by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game, Spielman wanted to bring in a quarterback who would put the Vikings over the top. Minnesota had the No. 1 defense in 2017. Upgrade from Case Keenum, and they’re a Super Bowl contender, right?
Well, Zimmer felt differently. He told reporters at the NFL Combine that year that he didn’t want to spend too much of the cap on a quarterback. Spielman signed Cousins to the league’s first-ever fully-guaranteed deal.
Cousins pocketed a cool $84 million but never connected with his coach. Cousins only had regular film sessions with Zimmer last year, and their conflicting approaches were highlighted throughout the season.
Zimmer wanted all his players to get vaccinated. Cousins never did.
Zimmer wanted Cousins to take deep shots down the field. Cousins preferred to be calculated with the ball.
Zimmer wanted the Vikings to have a run-first offense. It’s hard to pay Cousins that kind of money to hand the ball off repeatedly to Dalvin Cook.
Spielman reportedly was searching for head coaches toward the end of last season. He reportedly was being considered for a position where he would be the intermediary between a new general manager and ownership. Deion Sanders, who played for Zimmer in Dallas, said that the coach and GM didn’t speak for the last six months of their time in Minnesota.
Spielman may have hired an offensive coach had he been retained by the Wilfs. He always believed in Cousins, who he extended for $66 million in 2020. His response to Cowherd’s question about hiring an offensive coach says a lot.
It seems like he believes an offensive coach would have connected with Cousins and helped the Vikings achieve what they were capable of based on the roster he assembled.
