Mike Zimmer ranked #7 among NFL head coaches by The Sporting News

Mike Zimmer is going into his fifth season as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, and after a rough 2016 campaign, he’s starting to get his due in league circles after leading the purple to the NFC Championship Game in 2017.

Bill Bender of The Sporting News has put together his list, ranking the head coaches in the National Football League, and has placed Mike Zimmer at #7 on his list. Here’s what he had to say about the head coach of the Vikings:

Zimmer is the highest-ranked coach without a Super Bowl. His no-nonsense approach is a perfect fit in Minnesota, where the Vikings made a run to the NFC championship game last season and appear to be the new team to beat in the NFC North. They should only get better with Kirk Cousins.

The #7 ranking is a pretty significant jump up for Zimmer, as he was at #17 in last year’s rankings. As Bender points out, he’s the highest-ranked coach on the list that doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring. . .but, given the moves that the Vikings are making and their ability to keep their talent at home, I’m not sure if that something he’s going to have to worry about for much longer.

As far as the remaining NFC North head coaches, Bender. . .for some reason. . .still believes that Mike McCarthy is a better head coach than Mike Zimmer, as he has the Green Bay Packers’ head coach at #5 overall. The two newest NFC North head coaches, Matt Nagy of the Chicago Bears and Matt Patricia of the Detroit Lions, check in at #28 and #32 on the list, respectively. Former Vikings’ offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, now the head coach of the New York Giants, comes in at #30 on the list.

What do you think of Mike Zimmer’s ranking from The Sporting News? Too high? Too low?

(Hat tip to The Viking Age for finding this one before we did.)