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Mike Zimmer wasn't channeling his inner Herb Brooks when he addressed his players upon returning to Earth, er, work this week. Zimmer only meant to speak the truth about his own playoff experience as it relates to his current opportunity.
On Wednesday morning, Zimmer cleared any remaining blinding euphoria from the team meeting room at Winter Park by sharing a tidbit from his coaching career.
As an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys, he went to the NFC Championship Game during the 1994 season, then the Super Bowl the following year.
Zimmer didn't earn another trip to the NFC Championship Game until last Sunday. Many of his current players were still toddlers the last time Zimmer coached this far into a season. His message wasn't difficult to decipher.
"Some of those young guys come in and [think], 'Oh, this happens every year,' " Zimmer said. "My point was, this doesn't happen every year. If you don't take advantage of it, it may be 20 years and you're out of the league."
His directness was vintage Zimmer.
"He's going to keep things real," said Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, his former boss. "A lot of things have to bounce your way to be one of those final four teams. As long as he and I have been in the NFL, we realize that. It's great to get there. It's even better to finish it."
Zimmer has pushed the right buttons in guiding the Vikings to the doorstep of a Super Bowl appearance in their home stadium. If everything that could go wrong last season did go wrong, this season revealed Zimmer's deft touch in engineering one of the year's best NFL coaching performances.
On Sunday, he can join Bud Grant as the only Vikings coaches to lead the organization to the Super Bowl.
"I try not to even think about the magnitude of the game," Zimmer said. "Even last week, the second round of the playoffs, I hadn't been there in a while [21 years]. I look at it as a football game."
His reaction after the Minneapolis Miracle, however, showed a side of Zimmer that the public rarely sees. His postgame news conference turned into a pep rally when he asked a staffer to raise the curtains on the windows that overlook a bar area at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Zimmer pumped his fist as fans cheered his name. He did the Skol chant and urged fans to come to Philadelphia. He basked in that moment. And deservedly so.
Last season became a nightmare for Zimmer, between his team's collapse, his eye problems and several off-field brush fires that made unwanted headlines.
None of that existed this season. Sure, injuries to Sam Bradford and Dalvin Cook required quick adjustments, but Zimmer prevented those setbacks from derailing the collective focus.
"The quarterback situation was in flux, he lost his No. 1 draft choice, but at the end of the day, nobody cares," said Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, his mentor. "They just want to know if you can win or not. That's what he has done."
Zimmer and Parcells talk most weeks, which they did again before the NFC Championship Game. Parcells declined to give specifics, but he repeated a line twice in a phone conversation to drive home a particular point.
"The basic thing to understand is that there are bigger fish to fry," he said.
A hangover effect following an emotional, miraculous win might be a concern in other situations. That shouldn't be an issue in this case.
The Vikings have a mature locker room. They know they made mistakes against the Saints that would have ended their season, if not for that once-in-a-lifetime finish.
The Vikings have managed to stay in the moment all season, regardless of the circumstance. Nothing really has distracted them. Nor do they ever seem satisfied or content. That flows from the top down.
"I like things done a certain way," Zimmer said with a chuckle.
His way has brought the Vikings to the cusp of something historic. They should heed Zimmer's advice. This doesn't happen all the time.