Charley Walters: Vikings owners facing $56 million question

Jan. 8—Whether or not Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf decide to fire or retain Rick Spielman as general manager and/or Mike Zimmer as coach, the decision will be financial, not emotional.

The New Jersey real estate magnates, unsuccessful after 16 seasons in Minnesota trying to win the Lombardi Trophy, have to decide if it's worth paying off Zimmer and Spielman and, perhaps, QB Kirk Cousins, or absorbing major backlash from season-ticket holders.

This deal comes down to money, specifically about $56 million in cash.

Zimmer and Spielman have two more seasons — nobody knows, by the way, what the Wilfs were thinking when they gave the pair three-year extensions two years ago — on contracts that total a reported $16 million for Zimmer and an estimated $5 million for Spielman.

Then there's Cousins' guaranteed $35 million ($45 million salary cap hit) for next season for a 33-year-old with a 58-59-2 career won-loss record.

It's unclear whether Zimmer's final two contract years are guaranteed, or partially guaranteed or if there's a buyout. Unfounded rumors last week had the Wilfs bumping Spielman to another front-office position and firing Zimmer.

What is clear is that the Vikings are a team with no clear direction.

It would be interesting, if the Wilfs don't make major changes, how many season-ticket holders would cancel. Remember, though, those expensive seat licenses are not refundable.

If Zimmer is fired, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh would seem a coach with the best chance of turning the Vikings around in a hurry. In his four years as San Francisco 49ers coach, Harbaugh, 58, who is rumored to be interested in returning to the NFL, had a 44-19 won-loss record. In eight seasons with the Vikings, Zimmer is 71-56-1.

It's a good bet, though, that Harbaugh would require a $10 million per season contract, and for five years. Harbaugh is devoid of personality, but so is Zimmer.

And, if Harbaugh's interest in the NFL is genuine, the Vikings would face major competition from the Miami Dolphins, who are owned by Stephen Ross, who is a big Harbaugh fan.

If the Vikings release Spielman, look for Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay to get mentioned for the GM job.

If Zimmer is fired on Monday, it will be the 30th anniversary of the day the Vikings hired Dennis Green as coach.

It wouldn't be surprising if Zimmer, 65, were to take next season off, spend it at his Kentucky ranch while collecting his 2022 paycheck, then join some team as a defensive coordinator. It's clear his head coaching days would be finished.

There's little doubt that Pete Carroll would be interested in the Vikings' job if he's ousted by the Seattle Seahawks, but at age 70, a hire in Minnesota is unlikely even though Carroll probably would succeed.

Two other prospects for the Vikings would be Doug Pederson, 53, who coached the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl championship at U.S. Bank Stadium four years ago, and Josh McDaniels, the New England offensive coordinator who has developed rookie Mac Jones into a 10-victory QB. McDaniels, 45, agreed to take the Indianapolis Colts' head job four years ago before backing out.

Sleeper: Joe Lombardi, 50, the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers and the son of Vince Lombardi Jr., who was an assistant GM of the Seahawks. You might have heard of his grandfather.

It looks like the Vikings could end up with the 12th pick or so in April's draft if they lose to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, or the 14th or 15th pick if they win. The Bears have no first-round draft pick.

Transferred Gophers basketball players: Marcus Carr, who averaged 19.4 points for Minnesota last season, is averaging 10.1 for Texas and leads in assists with 3.4 per game. The Longhorns are the third college team for which Carr has played.

Gabe Kalscher, who as team captain averaged 9.2 points for Minnesota last season, is averaging 10.2 for Iowa State and is the Cyclones' second-leading scorer. But in a 77-72 loss to No. 1 Baylor last week, the DeLaSalle grad went scoreless and committed six turnovers.

Liam Robbins, the 7-footer who averaged 11.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots for Minnesota, still hasn't played for Vanderbilt after an early season foot injury.

Jamal Mashburn, who averaged 8.2 points and 1.6 rebounds for Minnesota last season, is the leading scorer (18.2 points per game) for ex-Gophers coach Richard Pitino at New Mexico (7-7, 11th in the Mountain West Conference).

Tre Williams, who for Minnesota averaged 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds, is averaging 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds for Oregon State.

It looks like it will take seven more victories for the Gophers (10-2) to get a National Invitation Tournament appearance in Ben Johnson's first season as men's basketball head coach. The Gophers rank No. 79 in ESPN's basketball power index.

Ex-Gophers rebounding star Jordan Murphy, 24, is averaging 12.7 points and 5.6 rebounds for Leones de Ponce in Puerto Rico.

Khalid El-Amin, the former Minneapolis and Connecticut star, has St. Thomas Academy off to a 5-3 start in his first season as head coach at the Mendota Heights school.

Sean Sweeney, the former Cretin-Derham Hall and University of St. Thomas point guard who as interim coach led the Dallas Mavericks past Houston on Friday night, continues on a well-deserved regular NBA head coaching track.

Highly regarded local men's college basketball referee Eric Curry continues to officiate major games, and it wouldn't surprise me if he's awarded a NCAA Final Four game in New Orleans in April.

Former Gophers men's golf coach Dr. Rick Ehrmanntraut, 70, last week retired after 42 years in dental practice.

Happy birthday: Dick Mulkern, the Hamline University football and track coaching legend, turns 97 next Sunday and remains sharp.

If major league baseball's lockout were to continue into the regular season, only players on the 40-man roster would be prohibited from playing. The Twins' Triple-A St. Paul Saints would go on with their regular schedule, which begins at Louisville on April 5 and at CHS Field on April 12 against Indianapolis.

QB Jackson Erdmann, 24, the former NCAA Division III MVP from Rosemount and St. John's, the other day signed with the Vienna Vikings of the European League.

QB Quinn Frisell, 26, a three-year starter for Augsburg College via Robbinsdale Armstrong, has signed with the Usti nad Labem Blades in the Czech Republic. Europe is getting littered with former MIAC football players.

Dan Stolz, the tireless CEO of SPIRE Credit Union, this month takes over as head of the Twin Cities Dunkers.

Condolences to the family of Gary Eikaas, the speed skating and Gophers golf standout from Minneapolis Roosevelt who died at 85 last week.

Keller Golf Course was the favorite played in 2021 by golf.com. "It's country-club conditioning at a municipal price," the site says.

Nice to see the success of Leslie Frazier, the ex-Vikings head coach who is the Buffalo Bills' assistant head coach and defensive coordinator and one of sports' really good people,

Jake Guentzel, 26, the former Hill-Murray star, leads the Pittsburgh Penguins in scoring with 18 goals and 33 points in 27 games. Future hall of famer Sidney Crosby is fourth with five goals and 24 points in 21 games.

Mark Grogan, who played for the 1981 Cretin state baseball champions, then in the College World Series for Wichita State, has written a memoir, "I Owe It All to Baseball," with anecdotes about Dennis Denning, Joe Meyer and other locals as well as playing against Roger Clemens and Calvin Schiraldi and others, available on Amazon.

Alexandria and Concordia (Moorhead) grad Merle "Skip" Hall, who got his football coaching start at Henning (Minn.) High (1966-69) and went on to coach at Boise State, has written "Coach 'Em Up, the Skip Hall Story" on coaching and business. The forward is by Alabama coach Nick Saban, who was a grad assistant to Hall at Kent State.

Goaltender Jaxson Stauber, who has a 14-7-1 record with three shutouts for Providence College this season, is the son of former Gophers Hobey Baker goalie Robb Stauber.

Brenda Frese, who bolted as Gophers women's basketball coach after the 2002-03 season and makes $1.4 million a year, is seeking her 523rd victory with the Maryland team she brings to Williams Arena on Sunday. Highest-paid women's coach is South Carolina's Dawn Staley, whose seven-year deal averages $3.2 million.

DON'T PRINT THAT

Booing directed at Vikings QB Kirk Cousins on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in the season finale against the Bears could be merciless in light of his unvaccinated status that might have led to missing last week's 37-10 loss in Green Bay.

The Vikings can't officially trade Cousins until March. And any team acquiring him probably would have to work out a new three-year contract. In order to trade Cousins, it's a good bet the Vikings would have to pay at least $10 million of his salary.

Destinations for Cousins could be New Orleans, Charlotte or Cleveland, depending on what coach Kevin Stefanski, the former Vikings offensive coordinator, thinks of him.

Last year, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was given a pass by team owners Zygi and Mark Wilf. That was probably reasonable because COVID-19 prohibited offseason practices and limited training camp. It didn't help in that the Vikings brought in younger players after dispatching some high-paid veterans. Also, the Vikings had an inordinate amount of injuries. The Wilfs figured the 7-9 season wasn't Zimmer's fault.

But this season, for a guy who's supposed to be a defensive coach, Zimmer's defense was abysmal.

Zimmer can claim that the season wasn't his fault in that Cousins refused to get vaccinated. It's clear that Zimmer never wanted the Vikings to sign Cousins in the first place, and until midway through this season, people who know say there was little relationship between the two.

Even with Cousins at QB, the Vikings were 7-8 until he tested positive for COVID. The Vikings have invested $150 million in him through next season via two contracts.

Cousins, by the way, gets paid his weekly salary despite missing the Packers game due to COVID.

While it appears former Marshall (Minn.) QB Trey Lance, who threw two TD passes for the 49ers in their 23-7 victory over Houston last Sunday, will start next season, the Vikings still would seem disinterested San Francisco's other QB, Jimmy Garoppolo, because of his injury history.

COVID-19 didn't ignore more than a few Target Field employees who worked the NHL's Winter Classic on Jan. 1.

Get-in secondary-market ticket price for Sunday's Vikings-Bears game is $30. Normally $100 minimum.

Ex-Vikings pass rusher Jared Allen will eventually be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, even if not this month.

It appears now that 7-foot Chet Holmgren, the Minnesota Academy grad now a freshman at Gonzaga, will be a mid-high lottery pick in June's NBA draft, but not among the top two as initially projected, per Sports Illustrated.

The Gophers have never signed a five-star football recruit since the rating system began. Dick Larson, 85, the MVP QB of the 1956 Gophers, figures the program's 1960 national champions would have had three five-stars — Bobby Bell, Sandy Stephens and Tom Brown — and six others who were either four- or three-stars.

Hall of fame Gophers baseball coach John Anderson, 66, per a contract understanding, this month will notify the university that he intends to coach for at least two more seasons.

In May for its series against Nebraska at Siebert Field, the Gophers baseball program will honor more than a half-dozen of its past championship teams, including the 1960 national champs, at a big alumni gathering. Other teams honored will include the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Big Ten champions of Anderson's first season.

Some prominent basketball players from Gophers' last Big Ten championship team 40 years ago coached by Jim Dutcher, now 88, feel snubbed that the program hasn't agreed to honor the team this season.

James Laurinaitis, the former Wayzata and Ohio State linebacking star who has been a Big Ten Network analyst, is joining new Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman's staff, per assorted reports.

Deephaven's Tim Herron of the PGA Champions Tour has a national TV commercial forthcoming promoting a new device to retrieve golf balls out of holes without bending over.

The Pohlad family, which owns the Twins, is worth $3.8 billion, per Forbes. That's the same as the Steinbrenner family, which owns the Yankees.

Another 20 percent of the $1.5 billion purchase price of the Timberwolves and Lynx by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez is due this year.

OVERHEARD

Tubby Smith, 70, the ex-Gophers basketball coach now at alma mater High Point, honored last week at a game at Kentucky, where he led the Wildcats to the 1998 NCAA championship, asked how long he intends to coach, per the Herald-Leader: "Well, you know, my wife won't let me quit, man. I've been trying to. She likes this lifestyle."