Ben Goessling, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Zimmer: Rejections a 'blessing in disguise'

MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Zimmer's admission at the NFL's career-development symposium that he thought briefly about not going on a second interview with the Minnesota Vikings was a refreshing -- if surprising -- bit of candor from a coach who has seemed confident in his approach to the job ever since he became the team's coach on Jan. 15. Zimmer, according to Fox Sports, had been beaten down by enough rejections, including one that presumably came from the Tennessee Titans just before he interviewed with the Vikings, that he wondered if his time had passed him by.

Zimmer said on Wednesday he only had passing thoughts about not going on the Vikings interview. But after nearly five months on the job in Minnesota, Zimmer said, he has seen the previous rejections in a new light.

"It's probably been a blessing in disguise that I didn't get this job or that job," he said at the Vikings' annual playground build event on Wednesday. "This was the one that was right for me. Sometimes, that's just how it is: Things don't work out for whatever reason, but you get in the right situation, and it just happens to fall into place."

There is a kernel of truth in those remarks that can relate to any job seeker in any industry, as rare as it might be to hear them from an NFL coach. Both Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman have talked on multiple occasions about how the fit felt right between the coach and the team, and they seemed to quickly connect on a personal and professional level. We're a long way from knowing how the relationship will pan out in the end -- it's easy for everyone to say they're happy in June, three months before there is anything significant at stake -- but Zimmer's point is a good one: Not every job is right for every candidate, and sometimes, it's just about finding a match.

"When I got up here and spent more time with people in the organization, got a chance to be around some of the players, I felt like it was a perfect fit," Zimmer said. "Since the day I walked in, I don't think there could have been a better situation for me. I think what it demonstrates, though, is you've got to keep persevering all the time, no matter how despondent you get at certain times."

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