StaTuesday: Ranking Vikings coach Mike Zimmer

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By at least one measure, Minnesota Vikings boss Mike Zimmer is one of the best coaches in the league.



Zimmer earned an overall rating of 7.7 out of 10 from Headcoachranking.com, which uses a proprietary formula to grade NFL coaches on five different attributes: play calling, game plan, clock management, personnel and in-game adjustments.

His individual ratings break down as follows:

Play calling -- 7.7 (T2)

Game plan -- 7.9 (1st)

Clock management -- 7.4 (4th)

Personnel -- 7.8 (4th)

In-game adjustments -- 7.6 (4th)

Click here for a more in-depth explanation of their analysts' methodology.

The fourth-year head coach trailed only New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick (7.9) and New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton (7.8) for the top spot, finishing in a tie for third with first-year Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay.

For context, Hue Jackson of the Cleveland Browns -- a former colleague of Zimmer's -- and Chuck Pagano of the Indianapolis Colts tied for last with a 5.8 rating.

The assessment isn't without precedent. USA TODAY ranked Zimmer the second-best coach in the playoffs behind Belichick earlier this month.

The Headcoachingrankings.com crew lists Week 1 as Zimmer's finest hour. He earned his highest single-game rating of the season in the Vikings' 29-19 dissection of the Saints, registering a 9.2 on the site's scale, while earning a perfect 10.0 for his clock management.

He edged Payton once again in the playoffs, earning an 8 in play calling, game plan, clock management and personnel, and a 7.8 for in-game adjustments.

The site posits that Zimmer lost the coaching battle in the NFC Championship, however. He was outscored by Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson in all five categories. The site's analysts took significant issue with the Vikings' decision to try for a seven-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal while down 31-7 in the third quarter.

Zimmer and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, the site notes, staked too much of the game on a single play instead of settling for three points.

"Although Minnesota needed several scores to get back in the game, we felt it was too early to start chasing points," they said. "The drive was effective, and by coming away with points, the offense has some momentum to build off of, whereas coming away empty handed shifted all the momentum back to Philadelphia and their home crowd."

Check out the full rankings below.