The Vikings announced this morning that head coach Mike Zimmer has returned to practice. The now-61-year-old (his birthday is today) has been absent from the first two weeks of OTAs as he recovered from eye surgery.
The eye woes aren’t anything new for Zimmer, as Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com notes that the coach has undergone eight separate surgeries over the past year to repair a detached retina. Considering the apparent on-going issues, some wondered if Zimmer would consider retirement, but the head coach quickly dismissed that theory.
One eye or two, it really doesn’t matter. I’m going to be back,” Zimmer said in May. “So we can put the retiring thing or whatever to bed quickly.”
Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, defensive coordinator George Edwards and special teams coach Mike Priefer were required to lead their respective units during OTAs. Alper notes that defensive line coach Andre Patterson “covered some of Zimmer’s duties” during the head honcho’s absence.
In three seasons with the team, Zimmer has led the Vikings to a 26-22 record and one playoff appearance. Prior to his time in Minnesota, he served as the defensive coordinator for the Bengals, Falcons, and Cowboys.