National Football League

Spielman, Zimmer moving Vikings forward

Published Nov. 11, 2014 6:00 a.m. ET

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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Mike Zimmer admits to having no patience. The first-year head coach is living with the ebbs and flows of his first season as the Minnesota Vikings' sideline general. He expects wins to stack up for a team that had been the definition of inconsistent in three seasons under previous coach Leslie Frazier.

Rick Spielman takes the long view. Minnesota's general manager can appreciate the process in a 4-5 start while Zimmer scrutinizes every detail.

"We make a good balance together," Spielman said last week before the Vikings' bye. "I'm a pretty good person that he can vent to. But also we have very open and candid communication and I think that is key. But we both believe in the same thing and believe in what we want and what we want this football team to look like and what type of players we want to bring in here.

"And Zim's not very patient. He wants everything right now. I'm kind of the guy who sometimes always has rose-colored glasses on. But I think we make a pretty good team in that balance between the two of us."

Zimmer is the yin to Spielman's yang.

Zimmer focuses on the immediacy, and Minnesota begins the stretch run two games out of the playoffs and three games behind NFC North-leading Detroit. The Vikings' final seven games following the bye week begin Sunday at Chicago.

Spielman sees a young team finding its way under a new coaching staff.

"I know the potential and the growth this team has because of the youth on our football team," Spielman said. "You're seeing those steps being taken week in and week out and we're improving, but we're not anywhere near where I potentially think we're going to be down the road here."

Spielman was tasked in January with replacing Frazier after a third missed playoffs out of four years and looked to the straight-shooting, defensive-minded Zimmer.

In Zimmer, Spielman found his coaching equal. Zimmer, the longtime defensive coordinator and son of a coach, believes in tough, sometimes old-school football.

Zimmer has overseen a remarkable turnaround on defense. Minnesota allowed the most points and second-most yards in the NFL last season. A few shrewd additions by Spielman and Zimmer's coaching have the Vikings ranked ninth in fewest yards and 14th in fewest points allowed.

Yet, Spielman jokes that Zimmer vents "hourly."

"But that's his personality and that's what makes him, I believe, the type of coach that he is," Spielman said. "That he is very driven and his staff is very driven and I think that's flowing right down to our players."

The bye week allowed a bit of reflection for Zimmer. He spent the time watching and evaluating his team while his players had five days off, though it did occur in the comfort provided by a wood-burning stove in his barn, he said.

"I think we've played better recently," Zimmer said Monday. "You know it's just so hard to put an evaluation on it because each game is so different. The thing I like the most right now at this point in time, if we are looking for positives, is the last two ballgames we were able to hang in there in the fourth quarter and win the ballgame. And so the resiliency and the tough-minded attitude things like that I think pleased me.

"So, hopefully we can continue it on and our only focus right now is the Bears and what we have to do going forward."

If Zimmer has to look at the negative, it's likely an offense that has struggled without star running back Adrian Peterson, who has missed eight games while he dealt with a legal matter. Minnesota also lost starting quarterback Matt Cassel for the season with a foot injury in Week 3 and has thrust rookie Teddy Bridgewater into the role a bit earlier than expected.

The Vikings are 26th in the league in points and 27th in yards heading into the final seven games. However, Bridgewater showed signs of growth in the two games before the bye and Minnesota earned a bit of momentum with two wins.

"To see (Zimmer's) leadership and to see his team take his mental approach to the game, where there's no excuses, there's resiliency," Spielman said.

"You're seeing this young team with a lot of young guys stepping up and growing, and I know we're nowhere yet where we need to be, but as you watch us each week and you watch us continue to grow through the season and you see all these guys, and I think you also have to continue to take the approach that a lot of our vets that have been there, this is all new to them, too, from the techniques being taught to the style of coaching, from what's expected of them, and I can tell you just watching from afar, how all of our players bought in to what Zim's preaching and what this coaching staff is teaching, and we're starting to see some results.

"Again, we've still got a long way to go and a lot of things to work on, but it's nice to see the direction that we're headed."

Zimmer's evaluation of his team during the bye didn't show the demanding coach a team struggling to adapt or a necessity for big changes.

"It's more about refinement now," Zimmer said.

Perhaps Zimmer saw a team through those same rose-colored glasses as Spielman and can appreciate the development.

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