WALTON, Ky. — Steaks and corn are sizzling on the grill as the sun sets over the rolling soybean fields of Mike Zimmer’s 80-acre sanctuary in northern Kentucky.

He serves another round of Coors Light, leans back in a patio chair and recounts the clock-management quiz he popped on his players in May during the first team meeting of 2015.

“I wasn’t able to do this last year because everything was so new,” he said.

The Minnesota Vikings were stung in 2014 by defensive collapses in late road losses at Miami and Buffalo. The first-year head coach also was irritated by offensive dysfunction during some 2-minute drives.

He clicked through film cuts while interrogating his club during organized team activities at Winter Park.

“When do I want to call timeout?”

“Should I be conservative here?”

Bill Parcells, who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants and was Zimmer’s head coach in Dallas a decade ago, used the exercise to get his 53-man roster to think as one.

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“He wanted his team to know what he was going to do in every situation,” Zimmer said. “We’ve rehearsed it. Everybody knows what we’re going to do. That’s what I’m trying to do now with this team.”

Zimmer wants receivers to know whether the offensive line is 20 yards down the field or busting it to scrimmage before burning a timeout.

He wants defensive linemen to know where the cornerback is lining up in Cover-2 so the scheme is executed with each player understanding every man’s responsibility.

“It makes them accountable. When I ask a question, they don’t want to be wrong,” he explains. “Some guys aren’t real smart and they’re not going to get the answer right. Some guys are real smart and they’re going to get every answer right. You’re still trying to get them all where they know.”

The work never ends.

Zimmer asked the team how far the offense had to drive to get within field-goal range. Conventional wisdom says at minimum an opponent’s 30 or 35-yard line.

“Somebody said the 50-yard line. I said, ‘Are you (expletive) kidding me? That’s a 68-yard field goal! That would be an NFL (expletive) record!’ When you say that in front of the team, that’s a different deal now. The guy that answered, it wasn’t a dumb guy. It just shows you if you don’t tell them, they don’t know.”

The filets are medium well. The corn is ready to be shucked. It is 10 days before Zimmer and the Vikings report to training camp in Mankato.

Expectations are high coming off Zimmer’s head coaching debut, an unremarkable 7-9 season overshadowed by injuries and Adrian Peterson’s child abuse scandal.

Zimmer has been a traveling man since minicamp broke in mid-June.

He went to Naples, Fla., to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of his parents, Bill and Ann; vacationed in Mexico with his son, Adam, Minnesota’s linebackers coach, plus daughters, Marki, 28, and Corri, 25; and will reconvene the family one more time in Dallas before returning to Minnesota.

Two weeks of solitude was interrupted when a reporter visited his farm 28 miles south of Cincinnati to capture Zimmer briefly at rest before the unrelenting grind of his 36th year in coaching commences.

Over four hours of conversation with the Pioneer Press, the 59-year-old widower discussed a wide range of topics about family, football and finishing the Super Bowl chase in Minnesota.

PP: Your dad coached football and wrestling for 35 years in Illinois (at Lockport Township High School). What was it like being a coach’s son?

MZ: Not good. Once I started coaching, he was proud, obviously; but when I was playing, he was tough. I couldn’t call him dad on the field. I threw an interception my junior year. We were playing in the conference championship game. One of the first plays of the game, I audibled. The guy was open and the ball died. It got intercepted. I came over to the sideline and he grabs me, ‘Get the goddamn ball there!’ And he punches me in the chest. Stuff like that. It was hard. We’d come back (home) after practice and wouldn’t talk.

PP: Ever hear his voice coming out of yours?

MZ: Yeah. He used to say, ‘One more time.’ I’ll say, ‘Run it again.’

PP: Describe your parents.

MZ: My mom’s pretty tough. My dad was pretty tough, too. They tried to bring us up right. Discipline, hard work. My dad was always going to clinics to learn more football or wrestling. If a kid was late for practice, he would drive him across town to take him home. He taught driver’s ed.

PP: So much about being a head coach is selling individuals on a greater cause. What do you draw upon in that?

MZ: You pick up things about scheme. The way Parcells was. The way (Barry) Switzer was. The way Marvin (Lewis) was. At some point you have to get a group of guys to understand your job is to do this so that he can do this and that guy can do that, whether it’s the offense or the defense or special teams. That’s what it’s all about. That’s why we meet so much.

PP: Why is that so elusive?

MZ: Individuals want to have individual stats, individual success, individual accolades. That’s not what wins games in football. We’ve got 22 guys we’re counting on all the time. If 10 of them do it right and one of them does it wrong, there’s a good chance that play ain’t going to happen.

You have to get them to believe that what they do on that particular play is so important because it may allow someone else to have success. It may allow the right end to get a sack. It may allow the middle linebacker to get a tackle. It may allow the tight end to catch a ball because we spread the area out. Bill Walsh used to talk about offense as a ballet; I think about defense the same way. Everybody has a job to do.

Everybody has to be perfect. My wife was a ballet teacher. Sometimes I used to say as the DB coach, ‘OK, we’re in dance class now. Step one, two, three.’

PP: OK, devil’s advocate. If I’m a marginal player seeking job security or a starter or star seeking that big contract, aren’t these conflicting interests?

MZ: It is conflicting. But because they’re on a successful team or they play successfully, how many are allowed to get paid more than they should be getting paid probably? There’s way more of that that goes on. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had a lot of guys, because we play good collectively or we got them to play better technique, their careers lasted longer and they made more money.

PP: Why are you such a fan of the underdog?

MZ: You want the great athlete who’s a great guy and smart. I’ve just always liked to take guys where people say, ‘Oh, he can’t play’ or ‘He’s not good enough’ and get him to be a good player. Selfishly, I look good, too.

I’m kind of like that a little bit. I was never a silver-spoon guy. I had to earn it. I was turned down for a lot of jobs. I didn’t get the recognition I thought I deserved, or whatever. I guess I have an affinity to those guys.

PP:

When you’re interviewing for jobs, you’re always preparing to be a head coach. What is the biggest thing you learned about yourself actually doing the job?

MZ: The biggest thing, honestly, is the media takes everything you say and can say it however they want it to sound. That’s the biggest thing I learned.

Football-wise, I was lucky to have (offensive coordinator) Norv (Turner) take care of that side of the ball for the most part. I’d go in and talk to him about things we should do, and plays, but if I didn’t have a guy that was good on that side of the ball it’d be (tough). But he’s obviously very good. And a great guy, too. So understanding how important that person is was really big.

With me, everyone says I was too blunt …

PP: … Before you came to Minnesota?

MZ: In interviews. I talked to one GM who interviewed me, who I was a friend with. He said, ‘No, nothing like that at all.’ He gave me some BS answer. Midway through the year he said, ‘I wish I would have hired you.’ There was never a time I was blunt in an interview where I was not polite or told the team they sucked and had to do this or that.

PP: It seems you have a certain and consistent way to convey things, whether publicly, to your bosses or perspective employer, whereas other people try to politic more.

MZ: I’m not good at politicking. When I first came to Cincinnati, (Bengals owner) Mike Brown is pretty set in his ways. He never asked me once about a player or anything until I proved that I know what I’m doing.

I said once during the draft process (in 2010) if (defensive tackle) Geno Atkins is there in the fourth round we need to pick him. We picked him and he ended up being a good player.

So now Mike’s asking me in personnel meetings, ‘Who do you like?’ Geez, you could have asked me that my first year. They hadn’t been to the playoffs in 15 years and he didn’t ask me, ‘How did they do it in Dallas?’ That’d be one of the first questions I’d ask people who have been successful.

I did say this to him one day. He said, ‘Well, we move the ball up and down the field pretty good.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, but you haven’t won. Maybe you should try it a different way.’

No one would ever say anything like that to him. So maybe that’s where I’m blunt.

PP: That’s pretty blunt.

MZ: But, ‘We move the ball up and down the field.’ Who cares if you don’t win? You haven’t been to the playoffs in 15 years; haven’t fired a coach. One coach was there 27 years, one was there 19 years. Hell, Vince Lombardi should be fired if you don’t go to the playoffs in 15 years.

PP: There’s been a lot of chatter about the ascending Vikings and you guys being a chic pick to do something in 2015. I’m sure that’s nice to hear, but how do you manage expectations and make sure the team doesn’t buy into too much hype?

MZ: I don’t know yet with this team, honestly. We have a lot of young guys, but Rick’s (general manager Rick Spielman) done a really good job of bringing in guys who are focused and smart. I don’t know that a guy like Harrison Smith is going to buy into (hype). Teddy Bridgewater’s not going to buy into it. As coaches, we do a pretty good job of getting them to understand.

But I have been on teams before that were supposed to be good and end up not being good and visa versa. The mentality we as coaches have will dictate whether they’re buying into it or not. If we don’t play good, then it doesn’t matter what anybody says.

PP:

Was there a component last year that prevented you from winning more, something you’re focused more on in Year 2 that should help you win more?

MZ: We gave up 51 sacks and 94 hits on the quarterback. You can’t win that way. That’s going to be big, how we play on the offensive line, how we protect, how we get the ball out on time. Defensively, I think we did some good things, but there were too many times we let the quarterback scramble out of the pocket. We didn’t have our rush lanes filled. We didn’t play the run good enough.

Two areas we did well in: We didn’t turn the ball over on offense, hardly any fumbles, and we didn’t give up a lot of big plays defensively. I’m more optimistic about the talent we have on the team now than I was a year ago, by far, even though they might be the same guys. They’ve proven to me they can play.

We lost four games by a total of seven points. That really determines your season. You win those you’re 9-7 or 10-6.

PP: What should people reasonably expect from Adrian Peterson in terms of production and impact that you weren’t able to get last year?

MZ: I don’t know production-wise as far as yards. I think he’s going to catch the ball some. Obviously, he’s still a huge threat in the running game. I think defenses will play us differently than they have before. You’re going to get a lot more single coverage on the outside. Then it’s going to be up to Teddy and (Mike) Wallace and the receivers, (Kyle) Rudolph, to keep moving the ball down the field.

His presence in there has got a lot to do with everything and the ability he has.

PP: The organization was able to bring the Peterson episode in for a pretty soft landing. You were credited with pushing the right buttons at the right time, whether publicly or privately, with him. What did you draw upon to navigate that?

MZ: I guess patience. I’m sure there was frustration on both sides. There were times I would get frustrated because every day I would get questions about it. But in the back of my mind, I always knew what kind of kid he was, what kind of heart he had and, having to play against him, what kind of player he was. The players in the locker room love him. They respect him. He always did what I asked him to do.

PP: How so?

MZ: He came up to me one day at lunch in training camp and said, ‘Coach, I’m sorry.’ I said, ‘What for?’ He said, ‘I was late to the offensive meeting.’ I said, ‘OK,’ and hit him in the chest. I said, ‘Don’t be late again. But I’m going to fine you.’ He said, ‘OK.’ But that was the worst thing he did and he came and apologized to me.

He came out to practice one day and said, ‘Coach, I’m really sore today.’ I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, go through stretch, go through individual (drills), get loosened up and you can be done. I’ll tell (running backs coach) Kirby (Wilson).’

Right when we get done with individual (drills), Kirby came running over to me saying, ‘Coach, he said he’s feeling good today and wants to go.’ I said, ‘Well, let him go.’

I try to take care of him. He’s earned that respect. But he loves football. He loves competing. And he loves being around the guys.

PP: How much are you counting on him to run angry through the league? Adrian Peterson doesn’t need much to motivate him.

MZ: No, I think he’ll be motivated, though. I think he’s excited about Norv. I do think he’s excited about Teddy, excited about the receivers. Hopefully we can continue to block good for him.

PP:

Teddy seems to have embraced the role of being an NFL quarterback. All offseason he’s been tamping down the hype about him and the team. Typical for him?

MZ: He’s a pretty level-headed guy. That’s his mentality. If there’s one thing I say in the meeting, I can count on him to repeat it to the media. I’ve had conversations with him about things I think he’s gone about the wrong way.

PP: Such as?

MZ: There was one situation that came up. I said, ‘Teddy, that’s not you. Why are you doing that?’ He said, ‘One of the guys wanted me to ask you something because they didn’t.’ I said, ‘Don’t be a follower. You’re the leader. You know better than this.’ He said, ‘Yeah, coach, I know.’

PP: What was it, an off-field situation?

MZ: Yeah. It was just silly stuff. ‘You ask him because he’ll listen to you,’ that kind of stuff. It’s not even football. I’m, like, ‘C’mon, that’s the last thing you should care about.’

PP: How do you need to be a better coach?

MZ: I’ve got to be involved more with the special teams. I think I’ve started to be better with the entire team, get them to understand what we want to do as a team, not just defense. That’s a big thing. You can always say game management. I don’t feel that was a weakness last year. I think I have to be even more demanding than I was because the expectations are higher.

PP: Demanding of accountability, performance?

MZ: Performance. Not being satisfied. I talk to the DBs all the time, if you got seven tackles, and the guy caught six balls on you, that’s not a good game. It means you gave up six catches. You can’t block your guy 65 times and the three times you don’t it’s three sacks. Those three sacks cost us the football game.

Last year I was trying to get them to be a team, but I don’t feel like I had the entire team’s attention.

PP:

Really? What makes you say that?

MZ: I don’t mean attention, I guess.

PP: You think they were still feeling you out?

MZ: No, I think they were fine with me. I just think I was so involved with the defense that I wasn’t able to convey enough things offensively and I had to rely on Norv to do a lot of those things.

PP: How important is it for the head coach to be fully integrated? The title implies it is.

MZ: There’s so many different ways. Some guys are like CEOs and like to delegate. There is no right or wrong way. Just me, I’m more of a coach. I’ll talk to the offensive line guys and talk to the wide receivers. I want to be an expert at all the positions.

PP: Do you think you’ll marry again?

MZ: I don’t know. You sit out here by yourself, it can be lonely, too. I assume I probably will but I don’t know. I’m not that easy to get along with.

PP: Are you more in-tune with what your adult children are doing?

MZ: Yeah, a little bit. I hear more girl stuff now than I used to, where they talk about their boyfriends. I’m probably not as tough as I was before with them.

PP: It’s been more than five years since (your wife) Vikki died unexpectedly. How would you say she is most present in your life?

MZ: We’ve got a little saying, ‘What would Vikki do?’ She was the sweet one of all of us. Not so much big decisions. My daughters, when they want me to buy something, it’s, ‘What would Vikki do?’ Yeah, she’d probably buy it. The big thing is having Adam with me now. She’d be smiling about that.

PP: It was a long road to get a head coaching job. How open-ended is the journey? What do you want to accomplish before retiring to … this?

MZ: Well, we all want to win Super Bowls and things like that. I want to do something with this franchise that’s never been done before. That’s what I want to do.

Follow Brian Murphy at twitter.com/murphPPress.