The Vikings had Zimmer into their facility in Eden Prairie, Minn., for a second interview on Tuesday. For the past week, he had been considered the favorite for the job, and as expected, landed it after Tennessee (Ken Whisenhunt) and Detroit (Jim Caldwell) made their hires.
Zimmer, 57, has waited long for this opportunity after spending two decades as a NFL assistant, also working for the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons. He replaces Leslie Frazier, who was fired after three and a half seasons on Dec. 30.
The Vikings had to go defensive again after Frazier as they fell from wild-card status in 2013. They ranked last in the NFL (No. 32) in scoring defense, last in passing defense and 31st in total defense (yardage allowed). Under Zimmer, the Bengals remained a dominant force, ranking No. 6 in scoring defense and No. 5 in total defense this past season. They were No. 6 and No. 4 in 2009, No. 12 and No. 7 in 2011 and No. 8 and 6 in 2012.
There is good talent on that side of the ball to create a quick turnaround, but the pass rush (where defensive end Jared Allen is a free agent) and secondary need the most addressing.
Zimmer is hard nosed, but has the soft touch needed to relate well with his players. Zimmer's deparature means the Bengals lost both of Marvin Lewis' strong coordinators to head-coaching jobs. Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden was hired by the Washington Redskins.
BROWNS IN NO HURRY
Amid mounting criticism of a coaching search dragging in its third week, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam sent a letter to Cleveland fans explaining the team's "methodical" actions. Haslam fired coach Rob Chudzinski last month following his first season, meaning the Browns must look for their seventh full-time coach since 1999 and fourth in six years.
The owner said the team has spoken to a "number of outstanding candidates" and indicated the Browns will meet with assistant coaches currently in the playoffs.
"We have purposefully been very methodical in our approach," Haslam said in the letter released Wednesday by the team. "We believe it is very important to stay disciplined to this process and to interview all of the candidates on our list. We are strongly committed to finding the right person to coach the Cleveland Browns."
Cleveland has interviewed six known candidates and the team intends to meet with Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase when the Broncos' season ends. Gase was the first candidate contacted by the Browns after Chudzinski was let go. The 35-year-old Gase told the Browns and Minnesota Vikings he wanted to wait until after the season.
Although Gase appears the front-runner, there's no guarantee he'll be hired by the Browns — or if he even wants the job. Haslam said the Browns, who haven't been to the AFC playoffs since 2002, will remain patient.
"We are prepared to wait as long as necessary because this is a very important decision," said Haslam, Cleveland's owner since 2012. "Everyone in our organization is committed to finding the right leader for our team."
The Browns and Minnesota Vikings are the only teams still without a coach. As Cleveland's search has lingered with some candidates going elsewhere, there's a growing perception the Browns' job is not appealing. Haslam, though, insists the Cleveland coaching spot is a "very attractive position."
The Browns also interviewed Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who could get a second meeting when the Seahawks' season ends. New England coordinator Josh McDaniels and Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles removed their names from consideration from the Browns' opening. Ken Whisenhunt met with the Browns before he was hired by
Tennessee, and Green Bay quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo interviewed with Cleveland but was hired Tuesday as the New York Giants' offensive coordinator.
Former Tennessee coach Mike Munchak met with Haslam and Browns CEO Joe Banner this week.
MCVAY, 27, REDSKINS’ NEW OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
New Redskins coach Jay Gruden was given his first coordinating job — in the Arena Football League, in 1997 — at age 30. He got his first head-coaching job at 31 the following season.
If Sean McVay, at age 27 being named Wednesday as the Redskins’ offensive coordinator is still a surprise, it shouldn’t be.
Seventeen players on Washington’s current roster are older than McVay, who turns 28 a week from Friday. Gruden has seen too much success in young coaches — including his own brother, Jon Gruden — to let that sway him.
The youngest offensive coordinator today in the NFL, McVay replaces Kyle Shanahan, son of fired Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan. Kyle Shanahan had gotten his first coordinating job at age 28, with the Houston Texans, under his father’s protégé, head coach Gary Kubiak.
McVay, meanwhile, worked on the same Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff in 2008 as Jay Gruden when Jon Gruden was head coach. Jon was an offensive coordinator at 32, with the Eagles under Ray Rhodes in 1995. He became head coach of the Raiders in 1998 at 35 — and at the time he was hired, only nine head coaches in NFL history had been younger upon taking the job.
McVay also was Jay Gruden’s tight ends coach with the Florida Tuskers of the now-defunct UFL in 2009, and joined Shanahan’s staff in Washington the following season.
He was one of six coaches retained from that staff after Shanahan was let go — feeding speculation that the presumptive favorite to replace Shanahan already had decided to keep them. McVay was considered an up-and-comer on the staff because of his work with veterans Chris Cooley and Fred Davis and, this past season, third-round pick Jordan Reed, who this week was chosen to the Pro Football Writers Association’s all-rookie team.
DOLPHINS HIRE NEW OC
The Miami Dolphins are hoping their new offensive coordinator clicks with Ryan Tannehill the way he did with Nick Foles.
Bill Lazor, who tutored Foles this season as quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, has been hired by Miami, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the Dolphins hadn't announced the hiring.
Lazor joined the Eagles a year ago when Chip Kelly was hired as head coach. Lazor was instrumental in the development of Foles, who led the NFL in passing in his second NFL season.
The Dolphins also had a second-year quarterback in Tannehill. Foles threw 27 touchdown passes and two interceptions, while Tannehill threw 24 and 17. Lazor was offensive coordinator at the University of Virginia from 2010 to 2012, and he has also worked for the Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons. He replaces Mike Sherman, who was fired last week after two seasons with Miami and was Tannehill's head coach at Texas A&M.
BRADY MISSES PRACTICE
The New England Patriots are taking Tom Brady's absence from practice in stride.
Four days before the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos, the star quarterback missed practice Wednesday because of illness and his right shoulder, the Patriots said in their practice report.
Brady said last week that he had a cold. Then he led the Patriots to a 43-22 win over the Indianapolis Colts in an AFC playoff game on a rainy Saturday night. Earlier in the season, he was listed on the injury report with the shoulder condition but usually practiced with it.
Backup Ryan Mallett did double duty Wednesday. He was the quarterback for the offense and also emulated Denver quarterback Peyton Manning for the defense.
"I'm not worried about Tom because I know Tom," Mallett said.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman, who caught 105 passes from Brady this season, said practice is different without him.
"But Ryan came in and he ran the offense," Edelman said. "And, more importantly, I was just kind of worrying about what I had to do to get my assignments and get my work in. I'm sure other guys were thinking the same thing."
Brady's scheduled media availability was cancelled. He's scheduled for another one Friday.
LACY REPLACES PETERSON IN PRO BOWL
Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy will replace Adrian Peterson at the Pro Bowl later this month.
The Minnesota Vikings running back can't participate because of an injury.
Lacy set franchise rookie records this season for rushing yards (1,178), rushing touchdowns (11) and rushing attempts (284). He tied the team's rookie mark for 100-yard rushing games at four.
Lacy is the first Packers running back since Ahman Green in 2004 to go to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii and the first Green Bay rookie running back since John Brockington in 1971.
Lacy says he sees the Pro Bowl as an opportunity to thank his teammates and coaches for helping with his accomplishments on the field this past season.
TANNEHILL’S WIFE LEAVES GUN IN RENTAL CAR
Lauren Tannehill, the wife of Dolphins’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill, stirred quite a bit of drama — and opens she and her husband up to a lot of questions — when she left an AR-15 rifle in the back seat of a rental car.
The Broward Country sheriff’s report obtained by the Sun-Sentinel explains that the rifle, worth $2,000, turned up when another customer of E-Z Rent-A-Car found the weapon in the Nissan Rogue that had been rented and returned by Lauren Tannehill.
“Though dangerous if it would have landed in the wrong hands, it’s not criminal,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Keyla Concepción told the paper.
The semiautomatic weapon is registered in Ryan Tannehill’s name and the couple is handling the situation as a “personal matter,” the Dolphins said. They said they tried to let the rental car company know that they’d left an item in the vehicle but were given “the run around.” They never did say that it was an AR-15 rifle, which might have garnered more immediate attention.
Lauren Tannehill, according to police, rented the car then returned it two hours later in exchange for another vehicle.
Three hours later, Judith Fleissig, 58, of Rochester, N.Y., rented the car from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Because the seats were folded down in the rear of the vehicle, she didn’t realize until two days later that there was a bag containing a gun in the back seat. She was told to take it to the nearest police station.
“They simply forgot about it,” Concepción explained.
The gun is often used for hunting and gun range enthusiasts, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Contributors: Rana L. Cash, David Steele, The Associated Press
