Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer are fired by the Vikings.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Minnesota Vikings dismissed general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer on Monday.

Minnesota subsequently made their exit known.

Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf released a statement saying, “We appreciate Rick and Mike’s devotion to the team’s on-field success, their desire to have a great effect in our community, and their dedication to players, coaches, and staff.” “We feel it is time for new leadership to enhance our squad so we can regularly challenge for championships, even if these decisions are not easy. We send our warmest wishes to Rick, Mike, and their families.

“We will start our extensive internal search for a new general manager and head coach right away. We’re committed to long-term success and giving Vikings supporters the Super Bowl titles they’re due and deserve.”

Before the season finale, there was a notion that, after eight years, the Vikings would let Zimmer go. Spielman has spent 16 years in Minnesota, so his firing suggests the Wilfs were looking for a fresh start following yet another poor year.

The Vikings had consecutive sub-.500 seasons for the first time since Zimmer was hired in 2014, which led to his resignation. Among the 32 NFL clubs, Zimmer has the seventh-longest coaching tenure, going 72-56-1 during his time in Minnesota.

“I have devoted my entire being to the players and this organization. Excellent assistant coaches who put up a lot of effort have served me well. We didn’t finish it, and I apologize,” Zimmer said in a statement on Monday. This area is really special because of the fans. There’s an incredible vibe at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Some of the players have been with me for the entire eight years, and I will miss teaching them. I would want to express my gratitude to the players that accepted me in 2014 and had faith in my ability to guide them to greatness.”

In Minnesota, the coach weathered several terrible circumstances, such as Teddy Bridgewater’s devastating injury and Adrian Peterson’s departure from the Vikings.

2017 was the pinnacle of the Zimmer period. Equipped with the top-ranked defense in the NFL, the Vikings, starting with backup quarterback Case Keenum, went 13-3 and took home the No. 2 seed. After Trevor Keenum struck Stefon Diggs with a 61-yard touchdown throw in the closing seconds to defeat the New Orleans Saints, 29-24, in the Divisional Round, the game known as the “Minnesota Miracle” will live on in Vikings legend for ever. But in the NFC Championship Game, Zimmer’s incredible run came to an end in a 38-7 rout against the Philadelphia Eagles, who went on to win Super Bowl LII.

After that miracle, the Vikings have only won one postseason game and have had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time under the coach. They still haven’t fully recovered. It’s fitting that in his last season as head coach of the Vikings in 2021, Zimmer leads one of the worst defenses in the NFL, having helped instantly turn around a league-worst defense in 2014.

It will be recalled that the Zimmer period was consistently good but insufficiently so.