Mike Zimmer Wants TCF Inconvenience to Be an Advantage

Feb 21, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer speaks to the media in a press conference during the 2014 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Zimmer is incredibly detail oriented as a coach, that much we have already learned.

Being a guy who pays such tremendous attention to detail, Zimmer is naturally doing everything he can to make life easier for his team as they go through the hardships of playing two seasons as guests in TCF Bank Stadium.

Zimmer reportedly has been talking to other coaches who’ve had to deal with guest status, including Jeff Fisher. He’s also done a lot of talking to Gophers coach Jerry Kill, trying to get a feel for the nuances of TCF.

But Zimmer doesn’t look at this whole thing as a pain in the butt. He wants to turn the situation into a plus for his team, even if the players themselves see it as a huge negative.

“I’ll try to take those things [that happened to teams in the past] and hopefully not run into those issues,” Zimmer told reporters at the recent owners meetings (via ESPN). “Most of these NFL guys probably don’t want to go in and play at a college stadium, I would assume. They’re used to playing in the pros, even though it’s a great stadium. If we can get that to be a big advantage for us, that can really help us, if I can figure out all those other things.”

TCF may be a nice stadium but it’s not set up with all the amenities you’ll normally find in an NFL venue. Zimmer is clearly hoping that he and his players can get used to those little nagging annoyances, while opposing players who aren’t so acclimated maybe are thrown off their game a little.

Zimmer will do anything to get an edge. This guy will get into all the tiny minutiae of every situation, hoping to find that razor-thin advantage.

It remains to be seen if the Vikings really can develop a homefield advantage at TCF, but if they don’t, it won’t be for lack of trying on Mike Zimmer’s part.

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