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purplefaithful · 01-08-2018, 11:49 PM

Vikings fans will always remember Sean Payton as the coach whose New Orleans Saints put a bounty on Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC title game and then went about trying to collect it in an overtime win.
It might disappoint those fans to know that Vikings coach Mike Zimmer doesn’t share your hatred of Payton. In fact, the two are friends and have been since they worked together under Bill Parcells on the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff from 2003-05.

“His kids and my kids were close,” Zimmer told the Times-Picayune in New Orleans during his first season with the Vikings in 2014. “Our families when we were in Dallas together were close. He and I used to play golf together quite a bit. Sean’s a good man and a great coach. I’m happy for the success that he’s had.”
Only Zimmer, 61, is going to try to stop that success, at least for this season, on Sunday when the Vikings play host to the Saints in an NFC Divisional Playoff game. That meeting was set up when the Saints beat the visiting Carolina Panthers, 31-26, on Sunday in the opening round of the NFC playoffs. The Vikings, the second-seed in the conference, had a bye.
If you are a Vikings fan, you were rooting for the Panthers to win. Carolina beat the Vikings earlier this season, but the Saints are the better team. However, if you’re a football fan you are thrilled about this matchup.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/0...ld-friend/

01-08-2018, 11:50 PM

Sunday will mark the third meeting between the Vikings and Saints since Mike Zimmer took over in Minnesota and the first postseason game between the franchises since the 2009 NFC championship game.
The Saints beat the Vikings, 20-9, in Zimmer’s third game as an NFL head coach on Sept. 21, 2014 in New Orleans. Zimmer got even on Sept. 11 of this season when the Vikings opened with a 29-19 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“I’ve known Mike Zimmer for years,” Payton told reporters Sunday after the Saints’ victory. “I consider him a good coaching friend, and I think he’s done a great job, and their team has been outstanding and deservedly seeded the way they are.
“They’re playing great defense, running the ball well; every time you watch them, they’re doing the necessary things to win. Understanding all that, it will be a challenging week, and we’ll have to be on-point to handle it.”

01-09-2018, 12:23 AM

The game in 2014 was the first time we saw Teddy in a real game. Cassell got hurt and Teddy had to come in. So there's that

01-09-2018, 01:17 AM

Zimmer needs someone to tell him we hate his old friend.

01-09-2018, 02:10 AM

Quote: @StickyBun said:
Zimmer needs someone to tell him we hate his old friend.

Something tells me Zimm knows lol!

01-09-2018, 02:27 AM

Quote: @StickyBun said:
Zimmer needs someone to tell him we hate his old friend.

Hate might not be the right word....you got anything stronger? :p