Mike Zimmer featured in new NFL Character Playbook commercial

Hat tip to the folks over at The Viking Age for finding this one first.

Mike Zimmer, the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, is not a man that seems to enjoy the spotlight very much. If you’ve ever watched one of his press conferences, most of the time it seems like he’d rather be pretty much anywhere else than at a podium with the camera on him

However, Zimmer is now being featured in a new commercial for the NFL’s Character Playbook initiative.

The ad, which is simply titled “Nicer,” sees Zimmer at a familiar position for most coaches: in front of the white board. However, instead of breaking down plays, he’s repeatedly writing one very simple sentence.

“I will be nicer to the officials.”

The ad is only fifteen seconds long, and it ends with Zimmer giving the camera a look that pretty much says, “Yeah, I’m not actually going to be nicer to the officials.”

Again, Zimmer is doing this to promote the NFL’s new Character Playbook initiative, which is designed to help students learn how to cultivate and maintain healthy relationships during their middle school years. It is geared towards students in Grades Six through Nine, and consists of six modules that go for about 20-30 minutes each.

The Vikings helped to launch the program in the Twin Cities area back in June, led by former Vikings’ linebacker (and current Vikings’ Youth Football Director) E.J. Henderson. The program is being done in conjunction with the Greater Twin Cities United Way.

Kudos to Mike Zimmer, and to the rest of the Vikings’ organization, for getting behind what seems to be a really worthwhile initiative in the local community.