Vikings co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer can’t get too far away from work during the pandemic — since he’s living with his father and boss.
And he acknowledged that it can be unusual at times.
In an interview with Bob Sansavere of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the younger Zimmer admitted that it’s not always easy sharing an office with his dad, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.
“At the facility and around the team, I mostly call my dad Coach,” Adam said. “It’s kind of weird for your boss to be your dad. I refer to him as Zimm in front of players.
“Players call me Zimm, Coach or Adam. As long as they don’t call me a—hole, I’m good.”
(Really, isn’t that all any of us can hope for?)
Adam said he’s a bit more laid-back than his dad, which probably isn’t hard to pull off.
“Everyone says we’re similar, my dad and me,” he said. “But I think we both have our own little quirks. I don’t think I’m as boisterous as he is. No, I don’t yell as much as him. I’m more of an explain-things-coach instead of a yeller. We’re all intense on game day, so that’s a little different. But around the players, I think I’m a little more talkative instead of yelling.
“Since we started coaching together, I think our relationship definitely is stronger. I spent just one year in Cincinnati with him. It was an adjustment period in Cincinnati. Eventually, we became more comfortable. I went there in 2013 and he got the job in Minnesota in 2014. I learned more football in these last seven years than I could have imagined.”
He said he’s able to stay in a different part of the house at the family’s 160-acre ranch in Kentucky, which allows for a little space, which he probably needs from time to time.
