Andre Patterson was 27 and fresh out of the high school coaching ranks when he met 31-year-old Mike Zimmer at Weber State in Ogden, Utah, in 1988.
The Wildcats were coming off a 10-win season and a trip to the Division I-AA quarterfinals. Zimmer was heading into his fourth season as Mike Price’s defensive backs coach. Patterson had just been hired to coach the defensive line.
Similar in thought yet different in approach, they hit it off immediately.
“We have a common bond that we both strive every day to be great, and we both strive every day to try and overturn every rock that we can to put our players in a better position so they can succeed,” Patterson said earlier this week when he spoke to reporters for the first time since having co-defensive coordinator added to his duties as Vikings defensive line coach.