During Rick Spielman’s tenure with the Minnesota Vikings, he oversaw the hiring of three head coaches: Brad Childress, Leslie Frazier (initially as an interim coach following Childress’s dismissal), and Mike Zimmer. Of the three, Zimmer had the longest and arguably the most successful tenure, but tensions apparently developed between Zimmer and Spielman towards the end.
Former Vikings quarterback Kyle Sloter made a noteworthy claim about the relationship between Zimmer and Spielman during a recent appearance on Matt Falk’s podcast. Sloter asserted that Spielman held a favorable opinion of him, but there was animosity between Zimmer and Spielman, leading Zimmer to harbor negative feelings towards Sloter. According to Sloter, the decision to bring him in as a quarterback was seen as a final act of defiance towards Zimmer as both he and Spielman were aware of their impending terminations.
Throughout the Spielman/Zimmer era, the Vikings experienced a revolving door of quarterbacks, from Matt Cassel to Teddy Bridgewater to Sam Bradford to Case Keenum, and eventually Kirk Cousins. Differences in quarterback preferences between Zimmer and Spielman seemed apparent, with Zimmer allegedly having reservations about the Cousins signing and advocating for Bridgewater’s return after his injury. However, Spielman and the Vikings had different plans.
Despite any tensions, Zimmer found relative success as a coach, ranking as the third-winningest coach in franchise history behind Bud Grant and Denny Green. However, indications suggest that the relationship between Zimmer and Spielman soured at some point during their tenure, despite efforts to maintain a positive public image.
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