Mike Zimmer has been the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings since 2014. In that time he has flirted with losing his job a number of times but always found a way to survive. Now with the most important game of the season at hand, his starting quarterback came down with Covid. A danger Zimmer prophesized would come back to haunt the team back in the summer when Kirk Cousins declared he was unvaccinated.
So one can imagine the head coach wasn’t keen to discuss his quarterback situation after losing 37-10 to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. A game that knocked Minnesota out of the playoff picture. A lot of people were surprised when he chose to start veteran Sean Mannion over 3rd round rookie Kellen Mond. After months of development, one would think the Texas A&M standout would be ready for such an opportunity. Zimmer disagreed.
When asked about it after the game, his reply was equal parts blunt and ruthless.
Mike Zimmer was never known for subtlety in his long coaching career. He gives his answers straight and unfiltered, whether people like it or not. This answer is a glaring indictment of the Mond draft pick. An indication by him that the kid isn’t even good enough to beat out a journeyman veteran that had a career passer rating of 57.5 up to that point. While it doesn’t mean the kid is a failure, it’s not exactly a vote of confidence.
It is easy to forget things could’ve been different for Minnesota. Reports back in April revealed that the team was really high on Justin Fields in the draft. They were salivating at the idea of drafting the Ohio State star. Unfortunately, GM Rick Spielman wasn’t willing to move up the board from #14 overall to get him. It was a crushing disappointment when the Bears got there first at #11. They ended up settling for Mond two rounds later.
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The fact Davis Mills went to Houston one pick later probably doesn’t help either. The fellow rookie has a respectable 85.2 passer rating in 10 starts this season for the Texans. Not a good look for the front office. Hence why Zimmer wasn’t keen on talking about it.
