Vikings sign head coach Mike Zimmer to contract extension

MANKATO – The Vikings reported to training camp Thursday morning with high expectations and big news involving the coach who helped create those high expectations.

On the campus of Minnesota State University in Mankato, General Manager Rick Spielman announced that coach Mike Zimmer, who last year led the Vikings to an 11-5 record and the NFC North title in his second season in Minnesota, had signed a long-term contract extension with the team.

"Our ownership deserves a championship, our fans deserve a championship, and there's no doubt in our organization's mind that Coach Zimmer is the right leader for this football team into the future," Spielman said.

Spielman would not reveal terms of the contract but did say "there's no doubt Coach Zimmer is going to be our football coach here for a long time."

Zimmer said he hadn't been pushing for a new deal, which will give the 60-year-old even more job security and presumably a pay raise. But he was happy to accept one.

"I feel very, very fortunate to be the coach of the Vikings," Zimmer said, adding, "It's good to get it done now and get a chance to move forward."

Zimmer had been passed over by several other teams for head coaching positions in the years before the Vikings hired him in 2014. He has said he even considered turning down his second interview in Minnesota out of fear of being rejected once again.

But after agreeing to take over the Vikings that winter, Zimmer — who spent his first two decades in the NFL as a defensive coordinator or assistant — quickly won over the players with his aggressive schemes and straightforward management style.

"He coaches hard and we love playing for him, and I think that shows up on the field," safety Harrison Smith said.

Zimmer has endeared himself to fans, too, with stingy defense and colorful quotes. It also probably helps that he has compiled an 18-15 record, including a playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks last January, heading into his third season with the team.

"We are very excited about the direction of our football team with Mike Zimmer as our head coach," owner and team president Mark Wilf in a statement. "His leadership and the strong partnership he has with Rick Spielman has helped transform the culture of our football team."

The Vikings approached Zimmer, whose original contract from 2014 ran through at least 2017, about an extension a few weeks ago, Zimmer said. Spielman wanted to get the deal done before the start of training camp so the coach could focus strictly on football.

Spielman described his working relationship with Zimmer as the best and most cohesive experience he has had with a head coach since becoming an executive in the NFL. He cited Zimmer's passion, leadership and ability to prepare players both young and old as the coach's finest qualities.

"You can't predict injuries. You can't predict the ball bouncing here or there. But I know Coach Zimmer is going to have this football team as prepared as any football team to head into this season," Spielman said. "And that all starts with what we have to get done at training camp."

Starting with wide receiver and top pick Laquon Treadwell, who reported to Sears Hall more than a half-hour early, Vikings players trickled onto campus wheeling suitcases, coolers and big-screen televisions for their 13-day stay in Mankato.

Dozens of fans, many of them decked out in Vikings gear, put up with early-morning sprinkles in order to get prime position for photos and autographs. They chanted the names of players such as Teddy Bridgewater and Alex Boone upon their arrival.

Veteran Vikings are familiar with this routine, but rolling into Mankato as the reigning division champs is something the team has not experienced since 2010. Expectations are high from the players and a title-starved fan base, and defensive end Everson Griffen said the road to the Super Bowl starts at Friday's first practice.

"You grind and put in the work now and you'll see the results later," Griffen said.

Zimmer, who has been front and center at team events at new U.S. Bank Stadium the past couple of weeks, playfully said he is happy to have gotten out of a suit and back to coaching. And he is especially thankful that he will continue to get to do that for the Vikings, not any another team, for the foreseeable future.

"All I know is that this is the right organization for me because they have the right people," Zimmer said. "I believe this team is the right fit for me."