Having thrown himself into his new job upon joining the Vikings in January, Mike Zimmer looked like a man who had little interest in taking a vacation. After all, who needs a beach when you have a few practice fields?
Zimmer looked as comfortable as ever Thursday as his first offseason program as Vikings coach wrapped up, and he might have even cracked a smile or two as he tweaked the technique of his defenders and watched all three of his quarterbacks coolly execute the two-minute drill.
But after sending his players off for summer vacation with an edict to be professional and accountable, Zimmer suddenly has free time on his hands.
"Honestly, I'll probably miss these guys for five weeks," Zimmer said. "It's been a good five months."
Zimmer has had a full workload with little time for rest and introspection after he was tabbed to replace Leslie Frazier and tasked with overhauling a team that went 5-10-1 last season. He assembled a coaching staff, jumped into free agency and aided the front office as the Vikings honed in on their 10-player draft class.
Over the past two months, he has carefully watched his players in the classroom, in the gym and on the practice field to see how they learn, work and interact with each other.
On a micro level, he has discovered that running back Adrian Peterson can capably catch passes, that rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is as bright as advertised and that he has pieces such as Xavier Rhodes and Brian Robison with which he can start to rebuild the Vikings' 31st-ranked defense (though figuring out exactly where to put those pieces is another story).
On a broader level, Zimmer has learned that he has something to work with here.