Alexander Shun | @alexpshun
Digital Content Manager | KFAN.com
Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer sat down with our guy and THE voice of the Minnesota Vikings, Paul Allen himself, at the NFL Combine on Thursday to talk about the state of the team, their offseason plans and much more.
During their talk, Zimmer revealed to PA that when the Vikings season ended, multiple players came to him to offer him advice on improving as a coach, including guys such as Terence Newman.
"We have a great relationship and one of the great things - and it was mostly defensive guys - but a lot of them came in. and Terence was one of them, and said, 'Coach I want to talk to you,'" Zimmer said Thursday. "It was one of those things where he was like, 'Coach I want you to be the best head coach you can be and I'm going to say this in a nice way, but here are some things I think you can do better.'"
Zimmer noted that the players' advice was not related to plays or schemes, but rather the "intangibles" such as "how to handle this situation or handle that situation."
The Vikings head coach didn't say exactly what advice players gave him but said that it was mostly regarding handling certain situations while possibly doing other things differently in the future.
While Zimmer was admittedly hesitant to name players that came to offer him advice, he did say that safety Harrison Smith was another of the Vikings players that came to lend his thoughts and advice.
"Harrison Smith, a guy who doesn't say boo, he came in to see me one day and talked about some of the things," Zimmer said.
It is surprising that Zimmer, a coach who has had success in all facets and everywhere he's gone, would take advice from the players he's helping to teach and make better, yet shows how receptive and open he is to improving the team, as well as himself.
"The thing is, you have to kind of evaluate what they're saying and see where you can get better," Zimmer said. "A lot of times people are afraid to give you advice, but these are guys that I respect and I think they would always have my best interests in heart."
CLICK HERE to listen to Zimmer's full interview with Paul Allen.