Former Vikings QBs are Bashing Mike Zimmer on Social Media (Again)
The Minnesota Vikings are fully expected to return their defensive coordinator Brian Flores, after his final head coaching opportunity with the Pittsburgh Steelers was awarded to former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy on Saturday.
That means we can expect Minnesota’s defense to, yet again, be one of the best in football next season. If the 2026 Vikings finish in the top 10 in points allowed in 2026, it will be the first time they’ve done so for three-straight seasons since Mike Zimmer’s defense did it five times in a row between 2015 and 2019.
| Year |
W |
L |
T |
Playoff |
PointsAllowed (Rk) |
Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 |
8 |
0 |
333 (7) |
|||
| 14 |
3 |
0 |
332 (5) |
|||
| 7 |
10 |
0 |
362 (13) |
|||
| 13 |
4 |
0 |
427 (28) |
|||
| 8 |
9 |
0 |
426 (24) |
|||
| 7 |
9 |
0 |
475 (29) |
|||
| 10 |
6 |
0 |
303 (5) |
|||
| 8 |
7 |
1 |
341 (9) |
|||
| 13 |
3 |
0 |
252 (1) |
|||
| 8 |
8 |
0 |
307 (6) |
|||
| 11 |
5 |
0 |
302 (5) |
|||
| 7 |
9 |
0 |
343 (11) |
|||
| 5 |
10 |
1 |
480 (32) |
|||
| 10 |
6 |
0 |
348 (14) |
|||
| 3 |
13 |
0 |
449 (31) |
|||
| 6 |
10 |
0 |
348 (18) |
Many forget just how great the MN Vikings defense was during Mike Zimmer’s glory days as head coach. Of course, his abrasive coaching style rubbed plenty of players , coaches and executives in Eagan the wrong way, during his tenure. That’s something we have seen with Flores, as well.
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But by the time Zimmer’s reign in Minnesota ended, he had burned too many bridges. Pretty much the moment Zim was fired, an onslaught of stories rolled in from those inside the organization painting the Vikings as a complete mess , in the final years under Mike Zimmer.
Kellen Mond rehashes old Mike Zimmer, MN Vikings feud
One of those players was Kellen Mond, who then president of football operations drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft . If you’ll remember, Mond was the pick that got Zimmer to stomp out of the MN Vikings draft room that year, signaling the beginning of the end to an era.
Related: Mike Zimmer Unloads All His Minnesota Vikings Baggage
Zim never warmed up to Mond — who was eventually waived by new Minnesota Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in August of 2022. Kellen has gone public before with some horror stories involving his former head coach. But he did so again, in more detail, this week via his LinkedIn page .
Mond wrote that what originally caused the rift between Zimmer and Spielman was the re-signing of Kirk Cousins . Their crumbling relationship was then exacerbated by the 2021 Draft. Here is Kellen Mond’s post, in its entirety:
When I was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, my head coach walked out of the draft room.
We never spoke. Not once.
It all started years before between the General Manager and him. The GM wanted Kirk Cousins at quarterback. The head coach didn’t.
Kirk signed anyway, and the relationship went sour.
When the GM and Offensive Coordinator wanted to draft me, the head coach was against it.. again.
I got the call. He walked out.
While I played for the Vikings, I never saw the General Manager and Head Coach speak.
Imagine the two most important people in any organization never talking.
What happens to that business? It crumbles.
And that’s exactly what happened.
The morning after our last game, we were told both the GM and head coach were fired.
They cleaned house.
The GM addressed the team and thanked us for our hard work, effort and dedication.
I was making life-changing money. Living a childhood dream.
And I was miserable.
A dysfunctional organization
COVID restrictions.
Waking up to -29 degree weather.
Not playing for the first time in my career.
All of these combined to make my rookie year with the Vikings one of the toughest of my life.
I would drive through the Twin Cities in complete silence, trying to make the commute to work feel longer.
The things that kept me going? A great QB room and some incredible veteran leaders who showed me what professionalism looked like even in chaos.
Money and status don’t protect you from depression. They can mask it, but they don’t cure it.
In the long run:
Culture > Talent
Environment > Compensation
The people within an organization play a huge role in whether a player thrives or survives, regardless of talent.
Looking back, those difficult moments taught me more about leadership, resilience, and my values than all my previous success ever did.
Kyle Sloter piles on
Then on Saturday, another familiar QB jumped into the conversation — certified member of the Mike Zimmer hate club — Kyle Sloter.
Sloter and Zim clashed multiple times while the two were both Minnesota Vikings, between 2017 and 2019, something Kyle has made no secret about in recent years.
Sloter and Mond then went back and forth a couple of times. Both guys clearly have more stories to tell.
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