Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer choked up when he spoke about cornerback Xavier Rhodes after Sunday's 13-9 victory over the Bears.

"Xavier came up to me and said, 'Thanks for everything,' helping him get good," Zimmer said while pausing a few times to compose himself. "He's got a chance to be a really good football player, and he's going to progress more with the mental aspect of the game."

Rhodes didn't know on Monday that Zimmer was emotional at the podium describing their bond, but the two have come a long way since the start of OTAs.

"Me and him did build a relationship," Rhodes said. "Since camp, he's been on me really hard. If y'all were out there, y'all can see how much he was yelling at me, cursing and stuff. I just took the coaching, and I played how he wanted me to play. He just let me go sometimes, and I had a great year."

He had a good reason to thank Zimmer. Rhodes finished with 18 pass breakups, recorded his first career interception and solidified himself as one of the top up-and-coming cornerbacks. Zimmer hounded on Rhodes during the offseason, working with him individually at times to understand his specific technique at the position, but Rhodes blossomed once the season started.

Zimmer often mentioned during training camp and the start of the season that he was still in the process of learning which buttons to push for certain players. He mentioned Rhodes a few times by name. The quiet cornerback has never dealt with such a blunt coach but made the adjustment as the season progressed.

"At first it came off strong because it's the first time you've been coached like that in the NFL and you have a coach like him," Rhodes said. "After a while you see his intentions. After you notice that, he's not really attacking me. He just sees potential in me so you just listen to it from there.

"I was determined to get right, and I knew what he wanted out of me instead of just looking at the things he was doing, the words, and he was [talking] at me. I looked at the bigger picture when he was doing that. It was an understanding between me and him."