Kellen Mond Confirms Mike Zimmer Mostly Ignored Him

Kellen spoke with media on Friday and essentially confirmed what a lot of us figured to be true throughout the 2021 season, regarding his relationship with former Minnesota Vikings head coach, Mike Zimmer. 

#Vikings Kellen Mond on Zimmer's harsh comments after GB game "He’s never really talked to me personally so I didn’t really take too much offense to it. He kind of backtracked on his word a little bit after. But it’s all fun & games whatever It’s a new year new coaches new team"

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) May 27, 2022

Remember the press conference where Zimmer threw Mond under the bus? How about the time he landed on the COVID list and the Vikings were forced to have their night practice with Jake Browning at the helm Mike Zimmer’s disdain for Kellen Mond is pretty well known, at this point. But these comments give his disdain even more affirmation.

Zimmer vs Vikings QB’s

Mike Zimmer was quick to go after players who weren’t vaccinated but seemed to focus on his QB room with Cousins, Mond and Stanley, none of which were vaccinated. Mond spoke on his experience with COVID-19 and confirmed he lost 10 lbs, which really set him back.

“I kind of got hurt when I got COVID & lost a bunch of muscle so a lot of ability & power & strength so I was down to like 204, 205 (pounds from 215) & lost a lot of muscle so it definitely set me back. … I didn’t get that really back until this season” Mond said.

Let’s fast forward to the Packer game at Lambeau on January 2, because this is where things really got interesting. COVID finally got Kirk Cousins, signaling the season was all but over. Mannion and Mond were both available and Zimmer went with Mannion. 

It wasn’t a surprise that Mond didn’t find the field in 2021-2022. He wasn’t drafted to do so. But it was Zimmer’s fault that Kellen Mond wasn’t ready for the big show that night in Green Bay. You can’t draft a quarterback and then never talk to him. That’s not the way coaching works.

New Vibe

There is an entire new vibe around TCO Performance Center. The guys are having fun, and enjoying themselves. We don’t know what will happen, as the results await on the field but early returns are Coach O’Connell and Kwesi have come in and invested in each and every one of these players on the roster. 

Players will stay away from saying too much about the regime change, but I won’t. This is exactly what the team needed, and Zimmer was a grumpy old man who essentially wanted to scare you into playing for him. Glad he’s gone, and based on a human assumption — the players are too.

Brian Heintz | Minnesota Sports Fan