Mike Zimmer’s former boss picked as Vikings ideal head coach choice

Former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis was recently selected as the ideal choice to become the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

Prior to getting hired by the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, Mike Zimmer spent his previous six seasons on the staff of the Cincinnati Bengals when they were led by head coach Marvin Lewis.

As the defensive coordinator on Lewis’ staff, Zimmer was able to transform the Bengals‘ defense into one that consistently ranked among the best in the NFL each year.

Following the 2018 season, Lewis and Cincinnati ended their relationship, much like the Vikings did with Zimmer earlier this week. Recently, the former Bengals head coach was selected as a potential choice to replace Zimmer in Minnesota.

Former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis labeled an ideal choice to be next Minnesota Vikings head coach

On Thursday, USA Today’s Mike Jones published an article that listed the ideal candidates to fill each head coaching vacancy in the NFL this year.

In a bit of a surprising decision, Jones listed Lewis as the ideal candidate to become the next head coach for the Vikings. Jones did his best to explain why he thinks the former Cincinnati head coach would be a good choice to replace Zimmer in Minnesota

"“Lewis possesses an ability to blend young and old talent together while getting them to work toward a common goal. He would bring a freshness, but also a degree of familiarity while upgrading the defense of the Vikings because the system Mike Zimmer ran for eight years as head coach came largely from Lewis, under whom Zimmer coached in Cincinnati.”"

Lewis was the head coach of the Bengals for 16 years, and during his tenure, the franchise was able to experience a good amount of success. He even led Cincinnati to seven appearances in the playoffs during his time with the franchise. However, the Bengals failed to come away with a win in each of their seven postseason appearances under Lewis.

As successful as Lewis was with Cincinnati, it doesn’t feel like he’s going to be someone the Vikings will be interested in hiring to be their next head coach.

Not only is he 63-years-old, but he’s associated with Zimmer. With the departure of both Zimmer and Rick Spielman earlier this week, it seems like Minnesota would like to start a completely new era of their franchise.

Hiring someone who spent a good portion of their coaching career with the guy the Vikings just fired doesn’t seem like the route to take for a franchise looking to bring in people with fresh ideas for their team.

Is it possible that Minnesota brings in Lewis for an interview? Sure, anything is possible these days. But it would be extremely surprising if Lewis ended up as the Vikings’ selection to be their new head coach.