Harrison Smith on difference between Zimmer and O'Connell: 'Not quite as adversarial'

Smith is heading into year 13 of his professional career and has seen significant changes with the Vikings since 2012.

Sep 10, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) warms up before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Vikings safety Harrison Smith, the team's longest-tenured player, has seen the organization go through incredible change in the nearly three years since Kevin O'Connell took over for longtime head coach Mike Zimmer.

When asked about the differences between Zimmer and O'Connell's management styles on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast, Smith noted things are "not quite as adversarial" around TCO Performance Center these days.

"Starting with KO, just the type of coach he is, the type of leader he is, it's not like looser, we're still — meetings are on time, everything is tight," Smith said. "But just kind of the personality of KO. I think being an offensive head coach can be different, but with KO we're competing but it's good work and we're taking care of each other and it's not quite as adversarial at times."

Smith was quick to note he wasn't knocking the approach Zimmer took to management. After all, he did earn six Pro Bowl nods and one All-Pro honor in the eight years of Zimmer's tenure as Vikings head coach.

Heading into year 13 of his NFL career, Smith said one of the big influences of coming back to the Vikings this season was the presence of defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

After a dismal season in 2022, when the Vikings were one of the worst defensive units in the league, Minnesota brought in the former Dolphins head coach to engineer a return to respectability on the defensive side of the ball. Flores did just that in year one, seeing the Vikings finish 13th in points allowed and 16th in yards allowed (up from 30th and 31st, respectively, under Ed Donatell the year prior).

"Having Flo come in has been awesome," Smith told Long and co-host Beau Allen. "That schematic side has been fun to me, but just the mindset he brings. He's not like a 'rah-rah' guy but he's an intense guy without having to do that, which is like a sweet spot that's hard to find."

Flores' aggressive defense turned heads last season with the amount of blitzes he employed, sending more than four pass rushers on a league-leading 51.5 percent of snaps last season. It's a play style that fits the Vikings' veteran safety well and one he calls "exotic" and "borderline unsound." Smith remarked that when he was first learning Flores' scheme, he remembered thinking "this is kind of wild."

The scheme has allowed a number of guys, some previously on the fringe of the Vikings roster, to flourish, none more than do-it-all safety Josh Metellus. The fifth-year safety had a breakout campaign in 2023, finishing with 116 combined tackles, four forced fumbles, one fumble return and an interception while playing in 11 different spots throughout the season.

"He can play any role on the defense. Like physically he can," Smith said when discussing Metellus. "He can play man-to-man really well. He can blitz well. He tackles well. Plays the deep half, deep middle and he gets involved in the games upfront with the linemen. So, his physical attributes allow him to do that but it's really his mental side that ... he's a guy that I don't think there's a lot of them out there like him. So he opens up a lot of things."

Heading into year two under Flores, the Vikings defense will be asked to carry a lot of the weight for the team this season. That's a responsibility Smith knows well after being a key part of several top defenses during the Zimmer era.