I’m cautiously optimistic about the hiring of Zimmer, which is more than I can say for every hire since Denny Green was hired after turning around Stanford. The proof is in the pudding, but hiring an experienced and respected defensive coordinator, who produced top 10 defenses three years in a row, is a big step forward for a franchise that hired third-rate coaches like Mike Tice and Brad Childress in succession. Dallas fans still miss him; he had the top defense in the league with them and they haven’t had one since.
Leslie Frazier might be a second-rate coach; jury is still out on him since his two primary problems were a) being too conservative, and b) Christian Ponder. He had to go, no question, but I’m not convinced he can’t be a successful head coach in the NFL if he learns from his failure with the Vikings. See: Bill Belichick.
When the whole coaching carousel kicked off, my preferences were Whisenhunt, followed by Zimmer. So, I’m pleased that the Vikings hired one of the sane candidates. And the fact that they didn’t hire Jim Caldwell AND get the benefit of playing against a Caldwell-coached team twice a year, is a bonus.