Mike Zimmer to coach from sideline nine days after eye surgery

ByBEN GOESSLING
December 11, 2016, 8:31 AM

— -- JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was able to travel to Florida with the team after two surgeries on his detached retina earlier this month, and he will be on the sideline for Minnesota's game against the Jaguars on Sunday.

Zimmer on Friday downplayed the idea that he would need to coach from a booth because of his right eye, which caused him to miss the Vikings' game against the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 1. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that a special pair of sunglasses, which block out vision through the right lens, will help him coach from his normal spot. Doctors had told Zimmer they didn't want him looking above the horizon in the days after his fourth surgery, which occurred on Dec. 2.

Asked about his plans Friday, Zimmer said, "I'm not going to worry about it. The doctor just doesn't want me to get hit. That's all. So we'll be OK."

Zimmer first had surgery on his right eye Nov. 1, a day after the Vikings' loss to the Chicago Bears, and he had another operation on Nov. 8. Emergency surgery the day before the Cowboys game caused Zimmer to miss his first game in 23 years of NFL coaching, but a league source told ESPN on Dec. 3 that Zimmer was set to go back to work following a fourth surgery the day after the Cowboys game.