Zimmer Second Interview On Tuesday; "May Not Leave"

If the recent grist from the rumor mill is accurate, the Minnesota Vikings might be very close to hiring their new head coach.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will fly to Minneapolis on Monday for his second interview with the team. That interview will take place on Tuesday, and if Fox Sports' Jay Glazer is to be believed, that may be the final step in the Vikings' coaching search.

The team is allegedly interested in a second interview with Arizona Cardinals' defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, but nothing has been officially set up on that front at this point in time.

The Vikings interviewed San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula on Saturday in Charlotte prior to their divisional playoff game against the Carolina Panthers. However, with the Niners winning and advancing to the NFC Championship Game, the team would not be able to conduct a second interview with either of them until the "bye week" prior to the Super Bowl. With General Manager Rick Spielman having stated that he wants to have a coaching staff in place by the Senior Bowl (which takes place during the same week), that might be too long for the team to wait.

You can read more about Mike Zimmer (and numerous other head coaching candidates) in Arif's colossally gigantically huge head coaching candidate primer. It sounds like the Minnesota Vikings could have the ninth head coach in franchise history in the fold as early as Tuesday if things go well. We will have all the coverage of that right here for you, as well as reaction as soon as anything official comes down.