Close defeat in NFL play-offs does not tell full story of Mike Zimmer’s job with Minnesota Vikings

The lost look on Zimmer’s face on the sideline told the story. He had done all he could, yet a mistake at a critical moment had derailed things and ended their season there and then, writes Graham Caygill.

Qualifying for play-offs but missing out at the first hurdle was hard to take for Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. Nam Huh / AP Photo

Being a coach or a manager of a leading professional sporting side can often be a thankless task.

Essentially you can only do so much when you are not actually able to be active on the field of play yourself.

Yes, you can ace the strategy and tactics, can name the right team, and make sure the players underneath your command are fully motivated, but that is all you can do, and yet you are judged on the result, and your reputation stands or falls on something you cannot directly control.

Sunday in the NFL wild card play-offs was the perfect example of why it is not always fair to hold a coach to his results, and why results do not always tell the full story.

Mike Zimmer, the Minnesota Vikings coach, had played things almost perfectly against the Seattle Seahawks in their NFC play-off.

The Vikings’ defence had nullified the in-form Seahawks and had opened up a 9-0 lead after three quarters.

Although Seattle then hit back to lead 10-9, the Vikings played the closing minutes beautifully as they moved to within field goal range while also running the clock down.

There were only 26 seconds remaining left when kicker Blair Walsh – who had already successfully kicked three field goals from 22, 43 and 47 yards, respectively – entered proceedings to put through what looked a straightforward kick at only 27 yards in length, and put his side ahead again.

While the Seahawks would still have had time to restart the game, with so little of it remaining, it would have required an almost miraculous play for them to win from there.

But Walsh missed. Horribly so as he pulled his shot, and with that the game was lost.

Read more: Vikings left out in the cold while Seahawks survive on missed field goal in NFL play-offs

The lost look on Zimmer’s face on the sideline told the story. He had done all he could, yet a mistake at a critical moment had derailed things and ended their season there and then.

Years from now the history books will say that the Vikings did qualify for the play-offs by winning the NFC North, but lost at the first hurdle.

There will be no context explains the Vikings should have won but did not. It will just be there in black and white: Vikings 9 Seahawks 10.

This is Zimmer’s first head coach role in the NFL and he has done a fine job of improving the Vikings, who had been 5-10 in 2013 when he took over.

They were 7-9 in his first season in charge in 2014, and they were 11-5 in this campaign, and topping the NFC North standings was no mean feat ahead of the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.

But, given the strength of the Packers and the Bears, there is no guarantee that the Vikings will be as strong in 2016, and it is possible this was their best opportunity to make an impact in the play-offs.

Now, if hypothetically speaking, they struggle next season compared to the Packers and Bears, will the pressure be on Zimmer?

If it does, on paper, a 0-1 play-off record does not sound great.

Which is not fair, as it does not tell the whole story of the job done by Zimmer this season.

But then that is the thing with sport. It is a results-based industry, but judging things purely on results does not all paint the full picture of what has unfolded, like on Sunday in Minnesota.

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