Mike Zimmer's Wife Dies Tragically Overnight.

[NightTrainLayne]

Vikki Zimmer, the wife of Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, passed away Thursday in Cincinnati, according to a statement released Friday morning by the team.

“We are stunned and saddened to learn of Vikki’s passing,” said Bengals president Mike Brown. “She was a warm and popular person in the Bengals family, and our immense respect and affection for Mike makes this especially hard. Our hearts go out to Mike and his family.”

The Zimmers were married for 27 years, with three children. Vikki Zimmer was born in Layton, Utah. She and Mike met during his coaching tenure (1981-88) at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

“Mike is part of our Bengals family, and we’ll support him in every way we can,” said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis. “We will dearly miss Vikki. She was a friend to all of us, and a big supporter of Mike’s players. Her thoughtfulness to them in so many ways will also be greatly missed.”

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Mike Zimmer, a 10-year defensive coordinator in the NFL, is in his second season with the Bengals


http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/10/09/bengals-mourn-wife-of-defensive-coordinator-zimmer/





I have no idea of the cause, but 27 years is quite an accomplishment. I'm sure he and his children are absolutely devastated.

[KCL]

That's very sad...my sister's husband died when he was 33...they had 3 kids who were 8 and 5 years old and the baby was 11 days old at the time.

We never know when our loved ones will be taken from us.

[girler]

My sympathies go out to their family and the whole organization. It sounds like she was a great woman.

[nbenallo33]

deaths happen all the time... sounds like she had a pretty good life... if she was 33 years old it would be very sad... but because she was married to mike zimmer it makes news?

dont get me wrong my condolences go out to her family but it wasnt anything tragic.. this stuff happens

[KCL]

deaths happen all the time... sounds like she had a pretty good life... if she was 33 years old it would be very sad... but because she was married to mike zimmer it makes news?

dont get me wrong my condolences go out to her family but it wasnt anything tragic.. this stuff happens

How old was she? She may have been fairly young.

[girler]

Playin devils advocate here, but she could have been a real bitch, and this could be a blessing to the husband.

nice.


“She was a warm and popular person in the Bengals family,"


“We will dearly miss Vikki. She was a friend to all of us, and a big supporter of Mike’s players. Her thoughtfulness to them in so many ways will also be greatly missed.”

Even when you play devil's advocate, you at least wait a few days before you speak ill of the dead. In olden days, you didn't speak ill of the dead at all. Especially if you didn't know them personally.

Just sayin.

[gnomeflinger]

Clay! :tsk: Shame on you!

[Northman]

nice.





Even when you play devil's advocate, you at least wait a few days before you speak ill of the dead. In olden days, you didn't speak ill of the dead at all. Especially if you didn't know them personally.

Just sayin.


Stop it. He was provoked.

[girler]

Stop it. He was provoked.

Sorry, I didn't see the provocation. Unless it's the fact that I live and breathe, a fact which I cannot or will not change.

[Poet]

Claymore, you suck.

The man coached and called one amazing game. At the end of the game he told the team that his wife loves them all and is proud of them win or lose.

Mike Zimmer is a example of strength and courage. Whenever I read about some idiot athlete being a baby I try to think of real men in sports who act with class and dignity.

He had his family with him during the game.

This is him with his daughter before the game started.

http://images.cbssports.com/u/photos/football/nfl/img12347808.jpg

Before the game Rey Maualuga said that the Bengals were going to win the game. Normally when a Bengals' player talks like that it's Chad Ocho Cinco shooting his mouth off. Maualuga didn't say it with arrogance, he said it with love. The team wanted to win -- not for a big win over a division opponent, not for ESPN recognition, but for a man who lost his wife. The Bengals defense is a young unit and many of those guys have Zimmer connections. Roy Williams and Crocker played under him. Those two guys are the heart and soul of the defense (along with Maualuga). If you follow Cincinnati football it's a known fact that Zimmer is a father figure to a rag tag bunch of guys that were left for dead. The same Crocker and Williams were released by their teams. Roy Williams drew little interest in FA and Crocker was signed late last year. The Bengals defensive line is headlined by one player with some name recognition in Antwam Odom. The Bengals' corners are good but not well known. Our most famous players are two LBs from USC in Keith Rivers and Rey Maulauga. Cincinnati used to be a place for players who were all flash. Players were always in trouble and the franchise was a joke. Now Cincinnati's defense is getting better every week and the Bengals are one of the hardest hitting teams in the NFL. The defense is clutch and they have a knack for punishing WRs over the middle and RBs who run up the gut. Zimmer isn't just coaching them up, he's teaching them how to be men.

In Cincinnati his name is gold. I doubt any of you guys know or care much about Mike Zimmer. I can't blame you, he's been regarded as an above average defensive coordinator but he was never available when your team was looking for a defensive coordinator. He means so much to the franchise, the players, the coaches and the fans because he's been a huge part of the culture change in Cincinnati.

Vikkie Zimmer used to bake the team cookies and was around the team a good deal of time. The players knew her, they cared for her. She was a kind soul. Zimmer said that she used to joke about him being too hard on his players. The team went out and played their asses off for the Zimmer family.

Claymore, I know you were probably joking, but that was in poor taste.

[Hardwired]

Does anyone know what caused her death? I haven't seen any follow-ups to this story.

I'm pretty sure I would have been too devastated to do anything meaningful after losing someone like that, much less coach a football game.

[NightTrainLayne]

Does anyone know what caused her death? I haven't seen any follow-ups to this story.

I'm pretty sure I would have been too devastated to do anything meaningful after losing someone like that, much less coach a football game.

I've been waiting to hear as well. There has been no reporting of the cause of death, other than one announcer yesterday mentioned that Zimmer came home and found her unresponsive.

[KCL]

I've been waiting to hear as well. There has been no reporting of the cause of death, other than one announcer yesterday mentioned that Zimmer came home and found her unresponsive.

Heart attack maybe...sad though.

[Gamechanger]

my condolences go out to the Zimmer family

great defensive game yesterday, I was glad the Bengals won, everything is looking good for this young d, i won't be surprised if their season will now be rode out on high emotion, all things point to them making noise in a tough division, where they were considered to be the lowly bunch of the North

seriously, I hope the Bengals win the AFC North, I know New York, Chicago and Minnesota are going to be tough outer division games, but playing like they did yesterday, I see them being competitive

another thing, Benson may win CPOY, at the moment he leads the league in rushing, who would have guessed it?

[Poet]

my condolences go out to the Zimmer family

great defensive game yesterday, I was glad the Bengals won, everything is looking good for this young d, i won't be surprised if their season will now be rode out on high emotion, all things point to them making noise in a tough division, where they were considered to be the lowly bunch of the North

seriously, I hope the Bengals win the AFC North, I know New York, Chicago and Minnesota are going to be tough outer division games, but playing like they did yesterday, I see them being competitive

another thing, Benson may win CPOY, at the moment he leads the league in rushing, who would have guessed it?

One thing that does suck is that Palmer is a candidate for CPOY. Last year was NOT good for us. :lol:

I hope your Colts win the division. Not that you guys don't already own that thing, but still.

[Gamechanger]

One thing that does suck is that Palmer is a candidate for CPOY. Last year was NOT good for us. :lol:

I hope your Colts win the division. Not that you guys don't already own that thing, but still.

i say Benson wins CPOY because the offense is making that transition from throw it all around to being more balanced and ball controlled

to crack the century mark on the Ravens run defense (though overrated, its still a good defense) is saying something imo

[Poet]

i say Benson wins CPOY because the offense is making that transition from throw it all around to being more balanced and ball controlled

to crack the century mark on the Ravens run defense (though overrated, its still a good defense) is saying something imo

Yeah, and what made me smile during the game was that he improved as the game went on. The Ravens defense is not what it was, you are right. Their cornerbacks are terrible. Ocho Cinco consistently abused Dominque Foxworth and some other guy. Ed Reed makes that secondary. Hell, I can honestly say that Cincinnati's secondary is superior. I would never claim that we have a safety who is even CLOSE to Ed Reed, but everyone else is average for them.

Carson Palmer is now 7-3 lifetime against the Ravens.

Baltimore could be 3-3 if they lose to the Vikings next week.

That could very well change the entire landscape of the AFC.

[Poet]

I would also like to point out that West sent me a text message congratulating Cincinnati and Zimmer.

West, you're a good guy. :salute:

[Medford Bronco]

This is so sad. My condolences to him and his family. :salute:

great win for Cincy as well for him. their D was awesome.

[KCL]

I would also like to point out that West sent me a text message congratulating Cincinnati and Zimmer.

West, you're a good guy. :salute:

I lost your number...:sad:

[Poet]

I lost your number...:sad:

This makes me sad.

[KCL]

This makes me sad.

Makes you sad?? Send it to me...we will talk again sometime!

[Poet]

Doc: A moment of peace for Zimmer
By Paul Daugherty • October 11, 2009


BALTIMORE – The man everyone wanted to talk to declined politely to speak.

That was fine. Some emotions can’t be explained: The hug of a child, the love of a lifetime, the loss of either.

Mike Zimmer’s wife of 27 years, Vikki, died Thursday for reasons unknown. After that, all he really wanted on Sunday was to be with his family. And so he was: His dad, his son, a daughter. . . and 53 players and a bunch of coaches.

It was one hell of an awful way to find inspiration. It was also a heavenly respite from what happened, and what is to come, when the noise dies down, the adrenaline ebbs and the mind has time for pain.

The Bengals won a football game here Sunday. It was a very big win, their biggest in four years. It wasn’t Comeuppance Sunday, as most had predicted. It was instead the drawing of a different curtain, the coming-up of new lights, when everything we thought we knew about the AFC North, and Cincinnati’s place in it, was scattered randomly, like dice on felt.

The Bengals have won three division games in a row, in a fashion no one could have invented, let alone predicted. Carson Palmer is The King of Late Game. Cedric Benson is Rudi Johnson with a burst. Chad Eight-Five is up to his old tricks. The offense is Swiss-efficient when it matters.

But it was the defense – Zimmer’s defense – that defined the Bengals on Sunday and brought pride and an identity to this formerly forlorn franchise. It is Zimmer’s attacking style that fairly screams, “the Cincinnati Bengals aren’t taking this stuff anymore.’’ It is his cajoling, blunt manner that has prodded his players to be better than anyone else thought they could be.

“Nobody wanted you guys’’ Zimmer would say all summer in Georgetown. He’d go down the list, from safety Chris Crocker to rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga, a first-round talent who dropped to the second round. Dhani Jones, Tank Johnson, Roy Williams. Personnel directors might have thought of them. Then they thought of something else.

The Bengals play like a team glad for the boulder on their shoulder. They practice like it, they come in early to push the boulder around. Ced Benson ran for 120 yards Sunday, against a defense that hadn’t allowed a 100-yard runner in two and a half years. This time last year, Benson was home in Texas, watching the NFL in his living room.

This is what Zimmer has helped cultivate. Desperation loves company. Players who have seen the end of the road aren’t eager to get there. They appreciate the life they almost lost. “Talent is overrated’’ is what some have reminded Marvin Lewis, all fall.

Zimmer didn’t speak publicly after the game. The result spoke loudly enough. The Baltimore Ravens came into the game known more this year for their offense than their defense, which is an altogether astonishing thing to say. And the Bengals shut them down. Other than rookie Ray Rice’s 48-yard catch-and-run TD, the Bengals shut them down completely.

Derrick Mason, the Ravens’ best receiver, came in averaging 15 yards on 18 catches. He caught as many balls as I did. Incredibly, he had just one thrown to him.

Johnathan Joseph picked off another pass close to the goal line. The Ravens averaged 413 yards in their first four games; they had 257 Sunday. It was a dominant performance by Zimmer’s crew. And totally a tribute to him.

“Guys would say otherwise,’’ Crocker said, “(but) that was our main focus, to win this for him.’’

You have to figure he likes this. You have to think it brings Mike Zimmer some peace. His extended family, the players nobody wanted, wanted him on this day. They rallied around him, protected him from hurt for three hours. They honored Vikki with their play. Vikki Zimmer was the unit’s unofficial den mother, frequently baking them cookies.

“You know how Vikki felt about all of you,’’ Marvin Lewis had told his players Friday. Now, Mike knows how his players felt about her.

He got the game ball. Partly because of him, the term “Bengalized’’ is taking on a radically different meaning. The old definition had more dirt shoveled on it Sunday.

As Crocker put it, “We’re finally getting that coin flip, you know?’’

There will be pain ahead for Mike Zimmer, private moments after the games stop and the lights go out in the coaches’ offices for another year. No one envies him that. But tragedy is not empty of grace. When we hurt, our families hurt with us. We’re not alone.

“We’re going to put our arms around him and give him all the love we can,’’ Marvin Lewis said. The players already did that. For three hours on Sunday afternoon.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091011/COL03/310110019
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This is probably my last post in this thread, but I am glad that he is our defensive coordinator.