Let's guess that John DeFilippo spent Sunday on a beach, contemplating the damage the last month has done to his career.
It seems his old coach wanted to help, because after the Vikings beat Miami 41-17, Mike Zimmer provided DeFilippo with all the shade he will ever need.
Without mentioning his obvious feud with DeFilippo, Zimmer talked about the offense being "physical'' and "running the football.'' He spoke of how new offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski was "calm'' and never "panicked.'' For DeFilippo, this must have felt like SPF 41.
"I think Kevin knew what I wanted, so I think that was part of it,'' Zimmer said.
One of Zimmer's strengths is his timing. He's adept at waiting for the ideal moment, taking advantage of the right openings, to make his hand-picked employees look good. This week he displayed that skill with the blitz and the pink slip.
Zimmer and DeFilippo had feuded for weeks. Zimmer fired DeFilippo after consecutive games at two of the toughest places to play in the NFL — New England and Seattle, where Kirk Cousins looked rattled and the offense looked inept.
For Zimmer, the timing worked just as well as if he had sent Mackensie Alexander on a corner blitz. Sunday afternoon, Stefanski faced one of the NFL's worst defenses, helped the Vikings score touchdowns on their first three possessions, and watched his team put up its largest point total of the season.
"Coach did a great job of keeping the defense on their heels,'' receiver Adam Thielen said. "They didn't know if it was a run or a pass. … He let us go play.''