There's a new era afoot for the Vikings, and if the reports of what went on in the final days, weeks and months are true, then it's hard to imagine the new era going any worse than the one that just ended. Five days ago, the team announced the hiring of former Browns VP of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as its new GM.
Adofo-Mensah succeeded Rick Spielman, who reportedly had a fractured relationship with former coach Mike Zimmer at the end, to the point where Spielman and Zimmer hadn't spoke for months.
Spielman has yet to address these claims, but Zimmer's girlfriend, Katarina Elizabeth Miketin, has been making the rounds on social media and shedding light into the relationship between Spielman and Zimmer at every chance she gets anytime Spielman appears publicly.
What about the GM having a relationship with the organization? Not talking to your coach for three months? Rick, Back-peddling and “spin” have always been your “game”. You should be embarrassed by your media blitz of, “it wasn’t my fault”.
— Katarina Elizabeth Miketin (@KMiketin) January 29, 2022
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Zimmer apparently wasn't without fault and had culture issues of his own, with some describing the atmosphere inside the team as "fear-based." Deion Sanders, who knows Zimmer well, also corroborated reports that Zimmer and Spielman hadn't been speaking.
Miketin said Zimmer tried to repair the relationship and wanted to speak to Spielman, but the latter wasn't around enough for that to be possible.
Nope. The coach did. But when your boss won’t talk to you…and isn’t in the building.
— Katarina Elizabeth Miketin (@KMiketin) January 29, 2022
She blamed Spielman for the rift between the two and referred to much of what he was saying as "gossip."
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.
— Katarina Elizabeth Miketin (@KMiketin) January 27, 2022
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Spielman was the GM since 2012 and before that joined the Vikings in 2006 as VP of Player Personnel. Zimmer, meanwhile, arrived in Minnesota in 2014 and went 72-56-1 as head coach with three playoff berths and three double-digit win seasons.
The team is in the market for a new head coach, and according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the four finalists are Rams DC Raheem Morris, Rams OC Kevin O'Connell, Giants DC Patrick Graham and University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.
It remains to be seen who ultimately lands the job, but whoever it is, it's hard to imagine they have as reportedly a fractured relationship with Adofo-Mensah as Zimmer and Spielman did.