At Mike Zimmer’s desk in his new digs at the team’s practice facility in Eagan is a two-inch three-ring binder stuffed with pages of hand-written notes. The only clue to its contents is one word on the outside of the binder — “Parcells.”



The pages of lined paper stem from three years working under legendary coach Bill Parcells at the start of this century, a time Zimmer credits more than any other for prepping him to become an NFL coach. Now as he readies for his fifth season leading the Vikings with rookie mini-camp beginning Friday, Zimmer still leans on Parcells for constant advice and guidance.



As an assistant under Parcells’ staff with the Dallas Cowboys, Zimmer brought a notebook to every meeting and took notes as if he were a player. After, the players retreated back to the weight room or the locker room, and so Zimmer would head to his office.



But for Parcells, a man admittedly in need of constant action,...