MANKATO – Why didn’t Andre Smith become a top-flight NFL offensive tackle during his Cincinnati days? The question left one of the league’s most candid head coaches momentarily speechless.
There was an um, a pained sigh and 11 seconds spent searching for the right words on Saturday afternoon before Vikings coach Mike Zimmer settled on, “I have some ideas, but I don’t want to share them. It wouldn’t be good.”
But Smith wouldn’t be here in Minnesota if Zimmer didn’t believe in Smith — and the Vikings coaching staff — enough for the team to give Smith a one-year prove-it contract.