Vikings Insider: The man behind The Man

The first time Adrian Peterson crossed paths with Eric Bieniemy, oh, how sweet it was.

"I like to say I spent a lot of time writing him love letters," Bieniemy said.

The romance is far from over, but let's just say the honeymoon has come and gone.

Bieniemy is the Vikings' fiery running backs coach, the kind of guy whose voice is always hoarse and whose arms flail for three consecutive hours during practice. In a previous incarnation as a UCLA assistant, he worked overtime to recruit a Texas schoolboy named Adrian Peterson. Now, Bieniemy is the coach with primary responsibility for keeping Peterson's NFL superstardom in check.

In Bieniemy's world, that includes heavy doses of high-pitched advice and a kind of tough love that doesn't seep into your basic recruiting sonnet.

"When guys recruit you," Peterson said, "they don't show you that side of getting yelled at and everything that comes along with it. ... I definitely got yelled at coming up in high school and college. But I think with coach E.B., you can add all of those guys together, and I think he would be able to [match them]."

Peterson is as humble as a superstar can be. To keep it that way, Bieniemy routinely fills his ears with sweet nothings in practice.

During their light and usually quiet Saturday morning workout last week, Bieniemy chastised Peterson in front of the entire team for making a mental error. The next day, Peterson set an NFL record with 296 yards rushing in the Vikings' 35-17 victory over San Diego.

"He is coaching him and coaching him hard, and I like that," coach Brad Childress said. "The kid has responded to that. [Bieniemy] is not looking at him like he just set the rushing record."

No, Bieniemy treats Peterson like the rookie of a veteran running back group. Sometimes, Peterson must wait until the end of a drill to take his turn. It isn't out of the question that he carry a veteran's helmet off the practice field, and he can bet that Bieniemy won't hold back if he spots the slightest of mistakes.

Peterson called Bieniemy a "fantastic coach" but said he isn't sure if Bieniemy knows his own NFL playing career ended eight years ago.

"You've just got to understand different coaches and how they coach," he said. "Eric Bieniemy, being a running back that played on both levels, and just the energy that he has out there, it's kind of like he is out there practicing or is out there playing. You've got to understand that, and you've got to love it. It's not how he is saying it, it's what he is saying. That's how you have to look at it."

Bieniemy has the benefit of a unique background with his star that few NFL coaches can replicate. It began in 2002, when Bieniemy began visiting Peterson in his hometown of Palestine, Texas, while filling his e-mail and voice mail with recruiting pitches.

"Put it this way: I know how to get to Palestine and not many people can say that," Bieniemy said. "I spent a lot of time in his living room, with his mom and brothers and sisters. There was an intimate relationship that was built and a personal bond that was formed. Even though we didn't win that recruiting battle, we were always a fan of his because he was such a great kid.

"When he decided to go to Oklahoma, we talked about it. We said, 'You never know, our paths might cross again.' "

The sentiment proved prescient, and now Peterson is giving him plenty to roar about.

"What happened last week is a great story that happens to be part of a long season," Bieniemy said. "With success comes a great deal of attention. But now we have to come back out and do it all over again. That's what I'm telling him.

"That's what will keep him humble, keep him focused and keep him hungry."

Kevin Seifert • kseifert@startribune.com