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NFL hot seat: 5 coaches who’ll start 2020 in danger of being fired

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 15: Head coach Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons signals from the sidelines during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on December 15, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 15: Head coach Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons signals from the sidelines during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on December 15, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Mike Zimmer, Vikings
Head coach Mike Zimmer of the Minnesota Vikings (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

No. 4: Mike Zimmer, Minnesota Vikings

Unlike Dan Quinn, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer doesn’t have to worry about not finding continued success over his recent coaching tenure.

The Vikings have gone 57-38-1 during the regular season under Zimmer’s direction since 2014, making the playoffs three times during that six-year span.

Under most circumstances, that alone would be good enough to suggest Zimmer shouldn’t be anywhere near the NFL hot seat in 2020. But the wonderment stems from what has happened during those postseason runs. The Vikings were eliminated by the Seattle Seahawks in heartbreaking fashion during the 2016 Wild Card round, were demolished by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2018 NFC Championship game before being completely embarrassed by the 49ers in the 2020 divisional round this year.

This prompts the question whether or not the Vikings seek a head coach to get Minnesota over the proverbial “playoff hump.”

A December 2019 report from ESPN (h/t Adam Patrick of The Viking Age) suggested Zimmer would be on the NFL hot seat this offseason. No changes materialized, of course. But the context could be entirely different this year.

That has to do with Minnesota’s quarterback, Kirk Cousins, who enters the final year of his fully guaranteed, three-year, $84 million contract signed in 2018.

Depending on the Vikings outcome this season, it’s not out of the question the franchise would want to move on from the quarterback. It’s also not out of the question teams in such situations want to entirely shake up the leadership amid changes under center, putting Zimmer back on the NFL hot seat.