Since both Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer were relieved of their respective duties with the Minnesota Vikings, we have begun to learn that their relationship wasn’t what it seemed. It started when Deion Sanders, a very public friend of Zimmer’s, said that Spielman and Zimmer had not talked to each other in months leading up to the end of the season.
Since leaving the Vikings, Spielman has been very vocal about his time in Minnesota and his relationship with Zimmer and coaching at large. On The Herd with Colin Cowherd, when asked what type of coach he’d be looking to hire, Spielman found his way towards his biggest issue with Zimmer.
“I think the No. 1 thing you’re looking for is that head coach has to have a relationship with that quarterback,” he told Cowherd. “And can a defensive head coach connect with that quarterback? Now, you know an offensive coach is probably going to be able to because that’s his job. But can a defensive coach do the same thing?”
While Mike Zimmer has chosen to stay quiet, his girlfriend, Katarina Elizabeth Miketin, took a different path. On Twitter Miketin bashed Spielman after his latest media appearance on the Move the Sticks podcast.
In a clip promoting the latest episode, Spielman talked about what it takes to build a team and what attributes yielded success when it came to wide receivers.
Miketin apparently took exception to what was said by the former Vikings general manager, responding, “Rick, how can you build a team when you refuse to talk to the coach and don’t show up? You talk a lot to everyone else, just not the ones who mattered when the organization needed unity. YOU caused separation. Your gossip needs to stop. Let’s talk facts.”
She doubled down on her instagram, saying, “No respect for MN. Take responsibility.”
Despite putting up a united front at the start of the season, it looks like Spielman and Zimmer were never on the same page, something we should have known last January when Everson Griffen tweeted out about how Zimmer never wanted Kirk. Miketien’s liked tweets echo this. She has liked several tweets stating that Zimmer was never in on Kirk and that his massive contract has killed the team.
It seems like the divide between Zimmer and Spielman goes even deeper than we think, with both of feeling the other is to blame for their downfall in Minnesota.
