Craig: Vikings defensive line coaches go way back with Zimmer

Talk to Robb Akey about 1988 and a smile appears that certainly exceeds the size of his paycheck at the time.

"You know what the scholarship check for a graduate assistant at Weber State was in 1988?" said Akey, who's now the Vikings' assistant defensive line coach.

Not a clue.

"It was $250," Akey said.

A week?

"A month," Akey said.

Ouch.

Without the fall of 1988, Akey wouldn't be a first-year NFL coach at age 48. Without the fall of 1988, Akey probably would be in his second year out of coaching as a "full-time dad" after 24 seasons as a college coach.

"I always thought about getting into the NFL, but it's not easy," Akey said. "Not without some ties."

That's where a certain former Weber State defensive coordinator comes in. Perhaps you've heard of him. His name: Mike Zimmer.

When Zimmer was hired as Vikings coach in January, his No. 1 priority was fixing the defensive line on the league's worst scoring defense. Actually, blowing up the defensive line would be a conservative description.

Three of this year's four starters and all four backups are new. But Zimmer also knew that even a massive personnel overhaul wouldn't be enough to satisfy his impatient nature. He needed a couple of assistants who believed in the same techniques he's been preaching since he became Weber State's defensive coordinator in 1983.

It wasn't long before Patterson and Zimmer were discussing Akey. The three of them hadn't been together since that one fall in 1988, but, as Patterson said, "It was the perfect fit" because he and Akey think alike and had stayed in touch over the years.

Nine games into the reunion tour, Akey has gone from being fired as Idaho's coach after a 1-7 start in 2012 — and 20-50 overall — to being beloved by a corps of NFL defensive ends that include the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Month.

"Bringing Coach Akey and Coach Patterson together is the perfect duo because they complement each other so well," Everson Griffen said. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. They're the best coaches I've ever had in my career."

Nine games into a 4-5 season, the defensive line is the strength of the team. It's also the youthful foundation for a defense that ranks ninth overall, second against the pass and second in sacks per pass play.

Speaking of sacks, three players ­— Griffen (nine), Tom Johnson (5 ½) and Sharrif Floyd (3 ½) — have reached career highs before the bye week. The defensive tackles also have 11 ½ sacks, which is tied with Buffalo for the league lead and 4 ½ more than the Vikings got from their defensive tackles all of last season.

"Zim was the same then as he is now," Akey said. "He hasn't changed a lick. Just as demanding. You know where everything stands with Zim. That way he has, I know it made me a better player."

Akey doesn't mind keeping Zimmer hours, either. Not after what he went through in 1988 as a $250-a-month gofer. When he wasn't helping Patterson coach the defensive line or in his office picking his brain — "He was in my office so much, we were like the Blues Brothers," Patterson said — he was doing work for Zimmer.

"I was the one accountable for getting the film broken down," Akey said. "And that was in the old days when the film was on reels and you broke the film and spliced it back together and all that. And that information was what I gave to Zim. So you can bet I spent a lot of hours making sure it was right."

Splicing film is a thing of the past. So, presumably, are $250-a-month assistant defensive line coaches.

Right?

Mark Craig mark.craig@startribune.com