Bill Parcells likened newly-hired Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer to defense-minded New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Zimmer, who was formally introduced as the Vikings' coach on Friday, told reporters he plans to run a defense similar to what he ran in Cincinnati.
Parcells, a two-time Super Bowl winning coach and NFL Hall of Famer, kept Zimmer onboard as the defensive coordinator when Parcells took over the Dallas Cowboys in 2000. From their four seasons of working together, Parcells believes Zimmer is similar to Belichick.
"The thing I like about (Zimmer) the best is he's a coach's son, he understands the game, and he understands the things that go with the game," Parcells told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Wednesday. "I think that's a great advantage when you grow up and your whole life has been football, and football has been in your house every night. I think it's a great advantage.
"My experience with people like Mike and Bill Belichick and the guys I've had that were coach's sons, is they're very, very dedicated, they're very diligent and hard work is never a problem. That's why I think he has a good chance to be successful."
As for what the Vikings players can expect?
"The players are going to love him," said Parcells. "They're going to love him. But this isn't going to be any church picnic, now. He'll be tough on them."
Zimmer said during his introductory press conference that he wanted a "tough" and "physical" team. As the former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator, Zimmer will likely have his fingerprints all over the Vikings defense, which struggled at times last season.
He wouldn't commit to playing either a 3-4 or 4-3 defense, but he did say he anticipates Minnesota's defense being somewhat like the defense he ran with the Bengals for the last six seasons.
"I plan on it being very similar to what I've done in Cincinnati," Zimmer said during Friday's press conference, via NFL.com. "It's always going to be part of my little baby, because that's kind of who I am and what got me here. So that'll always be a big part of me."
