Can a simple T-shirt set a team on a path toward victory? Vikings coach Mike Zimmer believes so.
When Vikings players arrived at the team facility on Monday, they were greeted by a shirt at their lockers. The front of the shirt featured an NFL logo and the text "NFC North". The back had a blunt message: "BEAT GREEN BAY".
"Just walked in this morning and saw it. So it's a nice shirt," defensive tackle Linval Josephtold the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "This is a big week. Green Bay is a very good team. We just have to execute small ball and 8-2."
When asked on Monday who was responsible for the shirts, Zimmer responded: "Me."
"We're making way too big a deal out of it. It's just a T-shirt," Zimmer added, per ESPN.com. "You can go down to the store and print them up. It's not a big deal."
T-shirt motivation isn't a new tactic for NFL coaches. Back in the summer of 1999, I visited Jets camp and saw coaches and players wearing white T-shirts with the Jets logo on the front and "START OVER" in green lettering across the back. I bought one of the shirts because 19-year-olds don't know how to spend money.
A few weeks later, Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde blew out his Achilles in the first half of the season opener, effectively ending New York's season before it began. START OVER was a failure for Bill Parcells. Perhaps Mike Zimmer will be met with greater fortune.