After a devastating loss in the NFC Championship Game following the 2017 season, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer made a classic mistake. He hired someone from the staff that beat him, assuming he was gaining the right kind of intelligence.
Minnesotans had seen that strategy employed by the University of Minnesota, which hired basketball coach Dan Monson shortly after he beat the Gophers in the NCAA tournament. Monson had one good season as the Gophers coach but never fully adapted to living in the Midwest, much less coaching in the Big Ten.