The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers are NFC North rivals on the field, but the former's head coach put that aside and offered words of encouragement for the fired Mike McCarthy.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer called Green Bay's decision to part ways with McCarthy "sad" and a "mistake" while praising his coaching abilities, per Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune.
The comments came after the Packers announced the firing and the decision to turn toward Joe Philbin as the interim head coach. Team president and chief executive officer Mark Murphy explained the rationale behind the decision in the announcement:
"The 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers.