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Some have criticized Vikings coach Mike Zimmer for publicly calling out former Minnesota offensive coordinator John DeFilippo for failing to run the ball more and then abruptly firing him. But anyone who knows Zimmer knows that he didn’t and wouldn’t take a concern public if he hadn’t already raised the concern privately, on multiple occasions.

That’s precisely what happened with DeFilippo. Per a league source, Zimmer gave the run-the-ball order directly to DeFilippo on multiple occasions, and he failed to comply. It’s unclear whether DeFilippo did so deliberately or inadvertently, given that the flow of a game can cause the best laid plans to change abruptly and dramatically. Regardless, he failed to comply.

And now he’s gone. Which means that, if/when DeFilippo gets back in, he’ll need to show that he can take orders and execute them faithfully. Everyone associated with a football team other than the owner has a boss, and if a guy has a reputation for not listening to the boss, it becomes harder to get hired.

That’s the challenge for DeFilippo, and that’s the advice that those in the media who were propping him up for head-coaching jobs should provide to him, solicited or otherwise. In your next job, do your job without thinking about that next job. And do what your current boss says, or you’ll soon be looking for a new one.