Minnesota Vikings: Can Mike Zimmer Sway Adrian Peterson?
Feb 19, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer speaks to the media at the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
ESPN has reported that Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman are meeting with Adrian Peterson and his wife Ashley today in Houston, TX to attempt to hash out the differences between the Petersons and the Minnesota Vikings.
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It is evident at this point that Adrian Peterson does not fully trust the Vikings’ ownership group or their front office. Spielman is a major cog in that office, so one can imagine fairly easily that Peterson might be wary of him at this point. His feeling is that the team worked with the NFL to keep him off of the field in 2014 and does not know if he can trust them. What might swing things in the Vikings favor though is how Peterson feels about Zimmer.
According to the ESPN article the reason Peterson is willing to meet with the Vikings is the respect he has for Zimmer. Really, this comes as no surprise. The amount of admiration from his current and former players is readily apparent. As much of a cliché as it is, Zimmer truly is a no-nonsense type of a leader. He does not strike me as the desperate type so I certainly would not expect any groveling. What I would expect is an approach that highlights the strides the team made in his first year and the growth of Teddy Bridgewater as the team’s quarterback.
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The question will be how far gone is the relationship between he Vikings and Peterson already. It could well be that he is already dead-set against a return to the team and is simply playing along for bargaining power. On the other hand it is possible that because of his respect for Zimmer and relationship with his fellow Vikings players that he is truly willing to hear Zimmer out. If that is the case I can still see a possibility of him returning. Zimmer is good at selling his vision. It will be up to him to sell Peterson on the future of the team.
This entire situation feels like it is close to coming to a head. Soon we will know whether or not the Vikings all-time leading rusher will be back in the Viking’s backfield in 2015. If he is back, Zimmer will have to be a large reason why.