Daughter of Vikings' Mike Zimmer defends her father against fan criticism
It’s hard being an NFL coach. Even if your team is successful, the hours can be long, the stress is high, and the scrutiny is constant.
And if your team is performing below expectations? Well, it’s all a lot worse. Add in social media, where alleged fans can anonymously (or with their name attached) say whatever they want, and it can become too much to bear, especially for friends and loved ones.
Like Mike Zimmer’s daughter.
‘It makes me sick to my stomach’
Corri Zimmer White, one of Zimmer’s three children and the woman who runs his foundation (son Adam is a Vikings position coach), took to Instagram on Tuesday to defend her father against the criticism he’s been receiving of late.
After playing in the NFC title game last January and signing Kirk Cousins during the offseason, expectations for Minnesota were sky high. After Monday night’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Vikings are 6-6-1 and are clinging to the sixth and final playoff spot in the conference. They fired offensive coordinator John DeFilippo on Tuesday.
All of this has opened up the flood gates to criticize Zimmer, who is in his fifth season as head coach. And Zimmer White needed to speak out.
Alongside a photo of her and her father at her 2017 wedding, Zimmer White wrote:
“My dad has lost 16 pounds this season because of stress, he gets to work everyday at 4AM and works until 9-10 at night. A lot of the times he even sleeps at the office and goes straight to the office after a loss.
“He works his ASS off to find a way to WIN for all these so called ‘fans’ that tear him apart. I’ve seen it all today to making fun of his appearance to judging every move he makes and it makes me sick to my stomach. If you don’t appreciate and can’t recognize everything he’s done for this team then you are no fan. These people get behind their keyboards and write heartless comments and i know for a fact that they have never worked as hard as he has ONE day in their life.
“This man is one of the greatest COACHES, FATHER, HUSBAND, FRIEND, and PERSON in the world. He is the right leader for this team and he will get it turned around. He NEVER points blame or blames others for a loss. He spends what little free time he has with his family and making an impact in the community honoring his late wife. Think before you comment, think of who could be reading it, and look in the mirror before you judge someone else.”
A post shared by Corri Zimmer White (@lilzimc) on Dec 11, 2018
‘An extremely difficult decision’
Zimmer met with media on Tuesday afternoon, after news came that DeFilippo had been fired.
Though DeFilippo was in his first season with Minnesota, Zimmer called it “an extremely difficult decision. I went round and round and round about it because I feel like I hired him, it’s my job to try and help him to help him get better. I didn’t do a good enough job there.”
Underscoring Zimmer White’s point, the first three comments under the team’s tweets on Zimmer’s words were calling for the head coach to be fired or step down. Minnesota is 45-31-1 under Zimmer with two playoff appearances and possibly a third coming.
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