Five extra points: Coaching tree for Mike Zimmer, MVP for RB, QB parting shots from Super Bowl LX

Who knew former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was the Offensive Coordinator Whisperer? With the Seahawks’ Klint Kubiak using Seattle’s Super Bowl LX win over the New England Patriots as a springboard to the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job, Zim’s head coaching tree has reached a second offensive-minded limb. Take that, Sean McVay! Zimmer gave Kevin Stefanski (2019) and Kubiak (2021) their first coordinator jobs.

He gave them the same mandate that John DeFilippo was fired for arrogantly ignoring 13 games into the 2018 season: Run the ball. Stefanski turned that mentality into a couple of NFL Coach of the Year trophies in Cleveland and a second head coaching job in Atlanta less than two weeks after the Browns fired him last month. Kubiak, meanwhile, just won a Super Bowl with that mantra. A running back — Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III — won Super Bowl MVP for the first time since 1998 when Terrell Davis captured it playing for a Denver Broncos team whose offensive coordinator was Klint’s dad, Gary.

Sam Darnold won a Super Bowl and will never have to prove himself to anyone ever again. Right? Well, he threw as many incompletions (19) as completions, averaged 5.3 yards per attempt and posted a modest passer rating (74.7) while playing third fiddle to his great defense and outstanding running back. The critics probably aren’t satisfied, but we got your back here, Sam.

Darnold started the game in fantastic rhythm and accuracy en route to the first of Jason Myers’ record five field goals. He also escaped some blitz-heavy pressures that avoided negative plays. And he and his offense completed the postseason without turning the ball over, which eliminated New England’s only chance at victory.

As for that passer rating, who cares? Drake Maye was infinitely worse and had a higher rating (79.1). Darnold’s passer rating was better than Peyton Manning’s in Denver’s win 10 years ago (56.6), John Elway’s in Denver’s win in 1998 and Ben Roethlisberger’s Super Bowl-worst (22.6) in Pittsburgh’s win 20 years ago. Keep your stats. Darnold wasn’t the hero, but he earned his ring and our respect.

Those of us too old to have heard of Bad Bunny or appreciate anything good in his halftime show would like to defend the entertainment value of what we all just witnessed. What others call boring football from a bygone era we lovers of defense call a masterpiece. Maye didn’t choke. He was choked by one of the greatest defensive performances in Super Bowl history.

As hard as the NFL tries to diminish the defensive side of the ball with new rules and points of emphasis to promote scoring, greatness still finds a way through the minds of people like young Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald and the kind of talent he and General Manager John Schneider used to build this “Dark Side” defense. Macdonald opened by confusing Maye with blitzing defensive backs before turning things over to his exceptional four-man rush, leaving Maye as a jittery, unsure 23-year-old mess.

Walker was a joy to watch and a reminder for Vikings fans not to underestimate what an elite young running back could do to cover some of J.J. McCarthy’s considerable warts going forward. The 25-year-old Walker was patient and powerful and elusive, all at the same time. The best game of his life on the greatest stage as he heads into free agency. In all four games going back to Week 18, when the Seahawks needed to beat the San Francisco 49ers to clinch the NFC’s top seed, Walker had at least 111 yards from scrimmage on 20 or more touches. He had 161 yards in the Super Bowl, 135 rushing, on 29 touches, the second most of his career.

So should the Vikings pursue in him free agency? No. When it comes to running backs of his ilk and what they can do to help your quarterback, your offensive line and your defense, think younger than 25 and somewhere in the top two rounds of the draft. Walker was the 41st overall pick in 2022. Yes, the Vikings have many needs. But don’t sleep on what an elite young running back could do for McCarthy and the team.

There are times when it seems like Schneider, the Seahawks’ general manager, is fighting his foes with four fists. On Sunday, we chronicled Schneider’s past four drafts and how they compared with the four posted by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, recently fired by the Vikings. Schneider has gotten 571 regular-season starts out of his last four drafts as 30 of 38 picks remain with the team. Adofo-Mensah got 172 starts out of the same four drafts as 14 of 28 picks remain with the team.

Today, let’s look at Schneider’s starting center. Some might disagree, but the belief here is that the Vikings have no greater need than center. Schneider’s starting center in the Super Bowl, Jalen Sundell, wasn’t a draft pick. He wasn’t even a center two years ago. He played left tackle at North Dakota State in 2023. He went undrafted in 2024. He won Seattle’s starting job at center in 2025 and started all but the four games he spent on injured reserve.