The Minnesota Vikings on Monday fired coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman after eight seasons, making the moves a day after a season-ending 31-17 win over the Chicago Bears.
This is the first time the organization cleaned house with its top two positions in football leadership since co-owners Zygi and Mark Wilf bought the team in 2005. The Vikings finished with an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season, the first time that occurred during Zimmer’s tenure.
Zimmer and Spielman both received three-year contract extensions ahead of the 2020 season. At the time of their firings, Zimmer and Spielman had two years remaining on their respective deals, which run through 2023.
While the Vikings will begin their search for a new general manager and head coach, in that order, immediately, ownership does not believe Minnesota is far from being a competitive team and doesn’t view the organization’s change in direction as a rebuild.
The Chicago Bears fired coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace on Monday after the team finished with a 6-11 record this season.
Nagy was named NFL Coach of the Year after his first season in 2018, when he led the Bears to a 12-4 record and reached the playoffs for the first time in eight years. He earned praise that season for his offensive wrinkles and humble disposition, but the Bears couldn’t sustain that success over the ensuing three seasons.
They finished 8-8 in 2019 and then again in 2020, when the league’s expanded playoff field put them into the wild-card round. Nagy was never able to duplicate his first season, in part because the quarterback he inherited — Mitchell Trubisky, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 draft — never made the necessary improvement.