If you are a lover of American football, you would have heard the name, Mike Zimmer. He is the coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). Since becoming head coach of the team, Zimmer has brought about an unusual change in the Vikings’ line-up, and today they have become true contenders in the NFL. Read on to learn more about this outstanding coach and more details about his family and his eye surgery.
Mike Zimmer Bio (Age)
Mike Zimmer, as many fans and football lovers know, is a popular coach and a multi-talent when it comes to football. Born on June 5, 1956, in Peoria, Illinois, he comes from the family of Bill Zimmer, himself a former NFL player and coach. Mike was good at baseball, soccer, and wrestling, but his sports career ended after he suffered a neck injury.
He received his high school education at Lockport Township High School, then made progress and enrolled at Illinois State University where he majored in Physical Education. Mike Zimmer is known to be a very optimistic person and does not believe in giving up in every situation. He has overcome many challenges in life, which have helped him shape his life and make him the person he is today.
As a player, Mike Zimmer was good enough to win the Super Bowl Championship and other championships such as the AFC North Championship, NFC East Championship, and others. Prior to becoming head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, he served as defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals – a position he also held for the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys.
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Mike Zimmer Salary, Net Worth
Mike Zimmer’s sojourn in football – both as a player and as a coach – has given him a net worth estimated at $6 million. As for his salary, his recent contract extension means that the former quarterback will go home with a salary of $4 million a year.
Who is His Wife? Daughter
Mike Zimmer is a family man. He was married to a woman – Vikki Zimmer – for 27 years before she died. She died on October 8, 2009, at the age of 50, following a natural death in her home in Ohio. Mike and Vikki first met when they were both jogging, and they also had another encounter in college when he was a coach at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Their wedding took place in 1982 and their union was blessed with three children, Adam, Corri, and Marki Zimmer.
During her lifetime, Vikki was very supportive of her husband’s career and a good mother to her children. Her death was sad for her family, and it affected Zimmer so much because they had such a great affinity. Mike Zimmer has since moved on with his life and is currently in a relationship with Tina Glass.
Coach Zimmer and his children came together as a family and decided that they would like to carry on their mother’s legacy. The family then established a foundation called “The Mike Zimmer Foundation” and thanks to Corri Zimmer, his daughter, the foundation was a success. The goal of this foundation is to help children in need to have a better life by motivating them to pursue their dreams and also by awarding scholarships.
Corri Zimmer was a former intern at ESPN and completed her university education at Texas State University in San Marcos. She has worked in the production department of the National Football League movies in New Jersey.
What Happened To Mike Zimmer’s Eyes?
Mike Zimmer rubbed his eyes in the game against the Chicago Bears. The Vikings’ coach was unaware that he had a retinal tear. After four weeks, Zimmer’s eyes became so bad that he had to have emergency surgery done on another eye to avoid the risk of blindness because the retina had detached from its normal position.
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The first surgery was successful, but after about a week the eyes were still a challenge to his game, so Mike went for the second surgery, which was also a success, but the poor vision remained, and he went for the third surgery. To date, Mike Zimmer has had up to eight surgeries on this particular eye.