Kellen Mond learned at least one important lesson from ex-coach Mike Zimmer during a nightmarish season together.
The former quarterback ripped Zimmer for how he treated him and others in a scathing takedown, noting how Zimmer’s sour attitude toward the ex-third-round pick began after the Vikings drafted him.
“When I was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, my head coach walked out of the draft room,” Mond wrote on LinkedIn. “We never spoke. Not once.”
Mond appeared in just one game in his NFL career with the Vikings in 2021 after being drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, although he would spend time with the Browns, Saints and Colts.
His career is perhaps best known for how Zimmer really did not want him on his team.
Zimmer has confirmed that he left the building after the team drafted Mond, and one year later essentially told the world that he thinks Mond was not worthy of playing.
When asked during the 2022 season if he wanted to get a look at Mond in a meaningless Week 18 game, Zimmer said, “Not particularly.”
After a follow-up question asking why, since Week 18 games are usually times to look to the future, Zimmer coldly said: “See him every day.”
Ouch.
Mond, whose LinkedIn says he’s now a photographer and videographer, explained in his post that there had been some bad blood between Zimmer and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman.
Mond alleged that Spielman wanted Kirk Cousins as the team’s quarterback, while Zimmer did not, yet the executive won out and signed him before the 2018 season.
Mond said Zimmer opposed drafting him, which led to further tension between the coach and general manager that ultimately permeated the organization.
“While I played for the Vikings, I never saw the general manager and head coach speak,” Mond wrote. “What happens to that business? It crumbles.”
Zimmer and Spielman both exited the organization after an 8-9 campaign in 2021, with Mond stating the team heard the news the morning after the season ended.
And there was awkwardness.
“The GM addressed the team and thanked us for our hard work, effort and dedication. The head coach was nowhere to be found,” he wrote.
“His reasoning for not addressing the team and players: ‘They got me fired.’ That response told me everything I needed to know. And taught me an unforgettable leadership lesson: Every time you show up to work, you control the energy in the building.”
Mond added: “Leadership is an atmosphere you create, not a title you hold.”
Zimmer went 72-56-1 across eight seasons with the Vikings, but has not received a head coaching opportunity since.
He returned to coaching with the Cowboys as their defensive coordinator in 2024, but exited the franchise after coach Mike McCarthy’s firing.
