Mike Zimmer Having Emergency Eye Surgery; Thursday Status Unknown

There’s a chance that the Minnesota Vikings are not going to have their leader on the sidelines on Thursday night when they take on the NFC-leading Dallas Cowboys in prime time.

Pro Football Talk is reporting that Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer was set to have emergency eye surgery on Wednesday evening, and that his status for the Thursday night contest is uncertain.

Zimmer had surgery following the Vikings’ loss to Chicago on Halloween to repair a torn retina. The team did not specify whether or not this surgery was connected to that one in any way.

The Vikings have not announced an interim head coach if Zimmer is not able to be on the sideline on Thursday night, but Rick Spielman has said that the team has a “contingency plan” in place. Current interim offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has NFL head coaching experience, so if Zimmer can’t be on the sidelines, my guess is that Shurmur would fill in for Thursday night’s contest.

Spielman will be addressing the media at 10:00 AM Central time to talk about this situation.

Once again, Minnesota Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer had emergency eye surgery on Wednesday night, and his status for Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys is uncertain at this point in time. We will have more on this story as more details are made available. Regardless of what happens, our thoughts are with Mike Zimmer and his family at this time.