Getty Kyle Rudolph recently broke his silence on failing to mention Kirk Cousins in his goodbye letter to Minnesota.
A comment former Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph made on his past coaches went viral this week as an alleged shot at Mike Zimmer.
After a decade in Minnesota, Rudolph is focused on helping the New York Giants pick up their first win of the season.
However, he took a moment to address the social media frenzy since the video interview went viral on Wednesday.
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‘I Have Nothing But Love and Respect for Zim’
A clip of Rudolph talking about his experience working under Giants coach Joe Judge went viral after Rudolph stated the obvious.
Rudolph, working under Zimmer and Leslie Frazier in Minnesota, has only had former defensive coordinators as head coaches. He hasn’t had a coach like Judge, a former special teams coordinator, who has experience working on both sides of the ball.
“It’s the first time I’ve had a head coach that’s not a defensive coordinator,” Rudolph said. “It’s a head coach that’s in charge of the entire team.”
Talk about throwing some Zimmer shade… pic.twitter.com/gJWSgOLIbG
— Drama King (@ZombietheDragon) September 22, 2021
A frenzy of reactions followed the video as many fans, upset with the state of the Vikings, used it as ammunition that Zimmer is unfit as a head coach.
Rudolph took to Twitter to not dispel any notion that he was throwing shade at Zimmer.
Here’s his response:
I’m just going to leave this here to squash this and then get back to doing everything I can to help my team get our first win of the season.
I was asked about Joe Judge in an interview FOUR WEEKS ago…I said it’s the first time I’ve had a head coach who’s not just a defensive coordinator (Leslie Frazier and Mike Zimmer we’re both DCs) Joe is a former special teams coach, who is used to coaching the entire roster, not just one side of the ball.
Y’all back there trying to make a comment seem like it’s a shot a Zim when it nothing to do with him in context I was stating facts that both of my previous two head coaches were defensive coordinators.. I have nothing but love and respect for Zim and Leslie.
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Zimmer Under Fire
While Rudolph’s comment was a matter of interpretation, it unearthed a mounting contingency of fans unhappy with the Vikings coach.
After unloading $46.1 million of guaranteed money onto the defense in the offseason, the Vikings have allowed 61 points and 840 yards in two games — both metrics ranking among the bottom-six teams in the league.
On Monday, CBS Sports Insider Jason LaCanfora reported that the Wilf family considered parting ways with Zimmer after the 2019 season. Instead, they offered him a three-year contract extension.
That extension comes with the expectation of a playoff appearance this season after a 7-9 showing in 2020.
“The Wilfs, who own the team, have pondered significant changes in the past, and seriously considered parting ways with head coach Mike Zimmer even after a playoff appearance two years ago, sources said. It is not lost on those within the organization how significant this season is to maintaining job security there,” La Canfora said. “Zimmer’s coaching style can be grating for coaches and players, they have churned through coaches and coordinators over the years, and the pressure is on for them to have a much improved 2021.”