There was no harmony between ex-Vikings coach Mike Zimmer and quarterback Kirk Cousins. Now a longtime player is speaking out and explaining that the coach just didn’t like his playmaker

Munich – In January, Mike Zimmer was fired as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

Now, one of the team’s longtime linebackers, Ben Leber, has spoken out about the franchise’s former coach – and stressed that Zimmer didn’t like anything about quarterback Kirk Cousins.

“I think hes finally going to blossom, really blossom, in a system and under a coach that really respects him,” Leber, who now works for the team’s radio station, said in an interview with “CBS Sports Radio. “

Leber: Zimmer didn’t like Cousins

“I mean, it’s not like I’m not breaking news here with the fact that Mike Zimmer didn’t like Kirk Cousins. And I think that showed in the way Kirk acted. He was never given the team or allowed to earn the team’s trust because the head coach just didn’t like him, I think. “

But for the franchise’s failure, missing the playoffs two years in a row, Leber said the defensive effort was largely to blame.

“This was a top-10 offense last year, with a very inexperienced offensive coordinator. Where did their defense rank last year? 31st. The year before that, I think they were 27th, so people can bitch about Kirk and bitch about this offense and say we can’t win with him or we can’t win with this offense. I say that’s total bullshit. “

Hope for improvement with the Vikings

And continued, “We couldn’t win with the crappy defense we’ve had the last two years. We couldn’t stop the run, not at all. Ever. To me, the biggest weakness of this team is the defence.”

Next season, under new head coach Kevin O’Connel, everything should now be better.