Before the Vikings played the Packers at TCF Bank Stadium on Nov. 22, 2015, in a nationally televised late-afternoon game that would determine the NFC North leader, coach Mike Zimmer sat down for an interview with ESPN's Michelle Beisner in which he would reveal a sense of competitive admiration for Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
"I hate to say this, but I always felt like I wanted to be as good as Belichick was to him," Zimmer said. "I'm not a silver-spoon guy; I'm a guy that has to go out and prove it each day, and I always wanted to prove I was the best.