fgoodwin
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,527
- Reaction score
- 642
Mike Zimmer's slowly coming back in Cincinnati, under the kind of pressure that would break most of us.
Imagine what Zimmer's life must be like. The defensive coordinator lost his wife to a yet-to-be-determined illness Oct. 8, and he comes home to an empty house every night. His son, Adam, lives in New Orleans and is an assistant coach on Sean Payton's staff, and his two grown daughters live in Texas, and all are still struggling to cope with the shocking loss. All Zimmer knows is he's been told by the medical authorities that Vikki died of natural causes, and that two organs stopped working the week she died, apparently leading to the death.
"She lost her voice, and we thought she just had laryngitis,'' Zimmer said from his office. "I thought she just had a cold. There were no drugs or alcohol in her system. They just don't know for sure yet. It's pretty tough.
"The thing that keeps me going is I've got to be a father and a mother. It's difficult, but you've just got to do it. You've just go to go on. I call the girls down in Texas, and they answer the phone crying and say, 'I'm just so sad.' And it's been harder on my son than I thought it would be. I just try to be there for them as much as I can. I've had to do things I never really thought of very much -- make sure I have a will, make sure I have my insurance taken care of.''
He spoke almost in a monotone, like he was trying to put one foot in front of the other and just go on.
"The letters, the messages, the cards ... they've been overwhelming. I've probably gotten 500 of them. They've helped. I've heard from a lot of people with depression. I got a letter from one guy who said that seeing me coach with what I'm going through gave him inspiration. I appreciate that. The thing is, it's so hard to be happy, even with how well the team is doing. We beat Chicago really bad a couple of weeks ago, and I go home, and I was just miserable. I've been sleeping on the couch because I just can't get back into our bed. I'm getting ready to go back in there, but I can't just yet. That's tough.''
She famously baked for all the players. "She always took care of us,'' said cornerback Jonathan Joseph. "She was a second mom to a lot of guys.''
Owner Mike Brown and business manager Bill Connolly were superb in flying both sides of the family to Cincinnati for the funeral, and arranging a dignified service, which Zimmer says he'll never forget. And his players -- Zimmer couldn't ask for a better group. The Bengals aren't the most talented. "But what makes this group special is you never have to get on them to work,'' he said. "It's great to be around guys who want to play the game and want to excel the way these guys do.''
On HBO's "Hard Knocks'' last summer, Zimmer, to me, came across like a head coach in waiting. I've always known him to be a very good teacher; what I didn't know was how naturally hard-nosed and disciplined he is. It just flows from him, and it's not forced. In the midst of his greatest tragedy, he is building a solid case to be an NFL head coach. If you can turn the Bengals' defense into a top 10 NFL defense, you deserve a bushel of interviews. Maybe you don't deserve a job over the four Super Bowl coaches on the street, but you deserve an airing.
"You ask the guys on this defense,'' said Joseph. "We like his approach. He's not looking to make any friends. He's looking to win.''
In seven of the Bengals' nine games, the defense has allowed 20 points or fewer. I think Zimmer's done his job.
Imagine what Zimmer's life must be like. The defensive coordinator lost his wife to a yet-to-be-determined illness Oct. 8, and he comes home to an empty house every night. His son, Adam, lives in New Orleans and is an assistant coach on Sean Payton's staff, and his two grown daughters live in Texas, and all are still struggling to cope with the shocking loss. All Zimmer knows is he's been told by the medical authorities that Vikki died of natural causes, and that two organs stopped working the week she died, apparently leading to the death.
"She lost her voice, and we thought she just had laryngitis,'' Zimmer said from his office. "I thought she just had a cold. There were no drugs or alcohol in her system. They just don't know for sure yet. It's pretty tough.
"The thing that keeps me going is I've got to be a father and a mother. It's difficult, but you've just got to do it. You've just go to go on. I call the girls down in Texas, and they answer the phone crying and say, 'I'm just so sad.' And it's been harder on my son than I thought it would be. I just try to be there for them as much as I can. I've had to do things I never really thought of very much -- make sure I have a will, make sure I have my insurance taken care of.''
He spoke almost in a monotone, like he was trying to put one foot in front of the other and just go on.
"The letters, the messages, the cards ... they've been overwhelming. I've probably gotten 500 of them. They've helped. I've heard from a lot of people with depression. I got a letter from one guy who said that seeing me coach with what I'm going through gave him inspiration. I appreciate that. The thing is, it's so hard to be happy, even with how well the team is doing. We beat Chicago really bad a couple of weeks ago, and I go home, and I was just miserable. I've been sleeping on the couch because I just can't get back into our bed. I'm getting ready to go back in there, but I can't just yet. That's tough.''
She famously baked for all the players. "She always took care of us,'' said cornerback Jonathan Joseph. "She was a second mom to a lot of guys.''
Owner Mike Brown and business manager Bill Connolly were superb in flying both sides of the family to Cincinnati for the funeral, and arranging a dignified service, which Zimmer says he'll never forget. And his players -- Zimmer couldn't ask for a better group. The Bengals aren't the most talented. "But what makes this group special is you never have to get on them to work,'' he said. "It's great to be around guys who want to play the game and want to excel the way these guys do.''
On HBO's "Hard Knocks'' last summer, Zimmer, to me, came across like a head coach in waiting. I've always known him to be a very good teacher; what I didn't know was how naturally hard-nosed and disciplined he is. It just flows from him, and it's not forced. In the midst of his greatest tragedy, he is building a solid case to be an NFL head coach. If you can turn the Bengals' defense into a top 10 NFL defense, you deserve a bushel of interviews. Maybe you don't deserve a job over the four Super Bowl coaches on the street, but you deserve an airing.
"You ask the guys on this defense,'' said Joseph. "We like his approach. He's not looking to make any friends. He's looking to win.''
In seven of the Bengals' nine games, the defense has allowed 20 points or fewer. I think Zimmer's done his job.
