New Vikings Head Coach invited local team beat writers to a lunch/film session Thursday at Winter Park.

The fact that the event was reported by the new Vikings Public Relations Twitter account (@VikingsPR) should be lost on no one.

The act was deliberate, strategic, and genius.

Writers are most fans direct link to the team. What they think about the Head Coach (whether consciously or sub-consciously) will trickle down to the fan base. And fan opinion carries a ton of weight in this industry because they vote with their dollars. A fan base that doesn’t believe in a team, it’s head coach, or direction will voice their displeasure and ultimately lead to change. Usually a full house cleaning.

By giving the locals a look behind the curtain, Zimmer is fostering a “we’re all in this together” attitude with the writers and — by proxy — the the Vikings fan base. Which is opposite of the ‘Coach vs. Media’ dynamic that we’ve seen many times before with Vikings head men.

Leslie was a nice man, but his ‘non-answer’ answers grew thin. You can only ‘look at the tape’ so many times.

Brad Childress was constantly chastised in the media for his standoff-ish attitude and lack of cooperation with the locals. Which could have been a habit he picked up being Andy’s Reid’s Offensive Coordinator in Philly all those years. Reid was notorious for his arms length approach with the Philadelphia press.

I mean how often do you see Head Coaches axed mid season after a 13-3 year capped by an NFC Title Game appearance? Front office dynamics played a big role, but scathing media reports of “schisms” along with fans in an uproar certainly didn’t help his cause. You can be a jerk to the media if you’re winning (i.e. Belichick), but as soon as your fortunes turn the media and fans will be at the gates. Torches and pitchforks in tow.

If Zimmer is accessible and cordial to the Twin Cities media, that will trickle down to the fan base. Additionally, by reviewing film together Zimmer is giving the writers better information and understanding on what the team’s intentions are. They can take the word directly from the horse’s mouth instead of speculating. Writers with more information = more educated (and better) average fan.

Goodwill only goes so far though. If the team is a complete disaster, Zim and the staff will (rightfully so) get raked over the coals by the locals, no matter how much free pizza is served up.

But if the team is average to mediocre — 8-8, 7-9, 8-8 (Jason Garretting, if you will) — perhaps Zimmer would get the benefit of the doubt with the writers (and therefore the fans) that the Vikings ship is headed in the right direction instead of a change being needed.

Hopefully it doesn’t come down to that. Hopefully Zimmer and the Vikings will sway opinions by winning on the field instead of working all the angles. I’ve been very impressed by Mike and the new staff so far, they have definitely won the offseason to date.

Now to win Free Agency, the Draft, OTAs, Pre-Season, 2014, and finally bring home a Lombardi to the Greatest State in the Union.

#GoalGlendale