An inevitable train wreck like the Detroit Lions is always fit for television, which makes sense why they’d be the team chosen to be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” in 2022. But make no mistake, there was enough choo chooing and billowing smoke clouds from the Minnesota Vikings last season to kick viewership for “Hard Knocks” into overdrive.
It was a hard miss by HBO, who spent the season following around the Indianapolis Colts instead.
The Vikings hadn’t quite dipped to the Lions’ levels of struggles yet—no playoff berth in the last six years and a last place NFC North finish in four consecutive seasons. But the struggle-bus was still rolling in the not-so-hunky-dory Minnesota land with general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer overseeing things.
Losing, in-fighting and a likely lame duck coaching situation would have had football fans lapping it all up.
Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks hinted on a “fear-based culture” when giving a little insight into what things looked like behind the scenes under the previous regime. Everyone thought the same thing when he made those remarks—boy, oh boy, if those walls could talk in Minnesota, they’d have some good stories to tell.
Legendary cornerback Deion Sanders, who is friends with Zimmer, claimed there was no communication between Spielman and Zimmer in the months leading up to both men being fired by the team. To add to the lack of communication, there was also an accusation of Spielman going rogue in the 2021 NFL Draft in selecting offensive guard Wyatt Davis in the third round.
Granted, I wouldn’t expect Spielman to be on the field or in the locker rooms enough to be on camera for the shows, unfortunately. But the trickle-down effect from some of his incendiary decisions has been a lingering problem for the Vikings.
Zimmer looked almost as disinterested in playing Davis last season as he looked at Spielman’s earlier third-round draft pick, quarterback Kellen Mond. He actually admitted he didn’t want to get a look at Mond on the field when pressed by reporters ahead of the team’s season finale against the Chicago Bears.
"Do you want to see Kellen Mond next week?"
"Not particularly."
Mike Zimmer is stone cold pic.twitter.com/KI1usresi7
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) January 3, 2022
Along with all of the Spielman and Zimmer drama, there was the Kirk Cousins contract situation bubbling at the surface. It was the year where Cousins was expected to prove he was worth the massive salary cap hell his contract would inflict upon the team before his eventual extension by the new regime.
An opportunity to see how he led behind the scenes and how the rest of the team reacted to him would have been worth the price of admission. Throw a mega personality like All-Pro wideout Justin Jefferson and future Hall of Fame cornerback Patrick Peterson into the mix and you’d need snacks and soda as well.
TD ➡️ Griddy
It's the routine for Justin Jefferson ⭐️
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/Z0AoHxQJpt
— ESPN (@espn) December 21, 2021
It was all popcorn entertainment at its finest, and the good folks at HBO should be kicking themselves for missing it.
