Vikings' Kris Boyd Doesn't Hold Back Talking About Mike Zimmer's Coaching Staff

Boyd says the Vikings have a much more relaxed vibe under Kevin O'Connell's leadership.

It's not exactly a secret that many Vikings players weren't fond of the culture and the  general vibe around the facility during the Mike Zimmer era, especially in recent years as the team's success waned. Eric Kendricks and Brian O'Neill weren't shy about making that known the day after Zimmer and Rick Spielman were fired.

By all accounts, things are much better in that regard under the new regime of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Kevin O'Connell, and an almost entirely revamped coaching staff. Whether or not that leads to wins and playoff runs is what will ultimately matter, but the feeling around TCO Performance Center is much more positive and easygoing this offseason.

Count cornerback Kris Boyd among those who are enjoying the change. He didn't mince words when talking about Zimmer and the Vikings' old coaching staff.

"They would walk around with their a**holes, like, tight," he said in an interview on Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden's All Things Covered podcast.

"[They] would always be strict about everything. Any time you messed up it's like the world ended. KO and them, they way more chill, way more relaxed. Whatever we gotta get fixed, we gon' fix it. We gon' keep rolling ... we gon' bounce back, figure it out. [They changed] the whole vibe, everybody's way more relaxed. As a defense, as a whole team, the vibe, nobody's really worried about too much. Like we really there to enjoy football and learn and just be the best us."

Again, NFL games aren't won because players enjoy the atmosphere around the facility in the offseason, but having an improved culture with more collaboration and slightly less intensity from the top down can't hurt. Things like the Vikings going on a team outing to Top Golf on Thursday to build chemistry probably wouldn't have happened last year.

The Vikings needed to make a change, and so far, it looks like they did well in ushering in an exciting new era with less tension and stress. Starting this fall, we'll see if it leads to more success on the field.

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