Mike Zimmer almost returned to Bengals before Vikings hired him

It seemed bound to eventually happen, and it finally did this offseason when Mike Zimmer left Cincinnati to become the head coach of the Vikings. After being passed up so many times before, the Vikings finally gave Zimmer his first head-coaching job at age 57.

But after another long, drawn out coaching search, Zimmer almost withdrew his name from the Viking's search for a new coach. Minnesota had already interviewed him once, and they invited him in for another interview a few weeks later. But Zimmer, afraid he'd be left waiting at the alter again, almost didn't go to the interview.

"I almost didn't go (on the second interview with Minnesota), yeah. I was so disappointed," Zimmer told FOX Sports. "It was like, 'Why even do this?' It was to that point. I figured I was getting too old. It thought, 'Forget this.'

"But I talked to a couple of people who said, 'Hey, you've gotta go. What are you doing?'"

In the end, Zimmer got what he'd pursued for so long, and that was the chance to be a head coach in the NFL. It's good to see him finally getting his wish.

He's done more than enough to earn that opportunity.