Minnesota became home for Anthony Barr
The long-time Vikings linebacker held a retirement press conference at TCO Performance Center on Monday
By Matthew Coller
EAGAN — Anthony Barr represents an era of Minnesota Vikings football.
When Mike Zimmer was hired in 2014 to turn around the 32nd ranked defense in the NFL, the first player that he drafted was Barr. In the subsequent years, Barr would be Zimmer’s right-hand man on defenses that ranked in the top 10 in either yards or points every year between 2015 and 2019, including the 2017 club that finished No. 1 against the pass and run and the 2019 club that slowed down Drew Brees in the Superdome during an overtime playoff victory.
On Monday, Barr reflected on his relationship with the former Vikings head coach during his retirement press conference.
“He entrusted me with communicating to the guys,” Barr said. “Whether it was in the green dot [defensive play calling] or just a message that he may have had. I feel like we had a good line of communication, and I kind of understood what he was trying to say. Even when he couldn't say what he was trying to say, I was able to figure out what he was trying to get at, so I think that just made our relationship really strong.”
What made Barr’s time with Zimmer interesting was that the old school HC could have asked his top pick to become an edge rushing sack artist from the outset but instead used him as an off-ball linebacker. He thought that Barr could move in unique ways for his size and that his intelligence and leadership allowed him to command the defensive front and be the calming hand during times of madness.
Along the way, Zimmer often argued that his Pro Bowl linebacker was underappreciated. At one point when there was speculation about the team potentially trading Barr, Zimmer called for a press conference to announce that they were not going to move him. The box score stats like sacks and forced fumbles went up and down throughout his career but Barr’s mastery of the defense, sideline-to-sideline speed versus the run and screen game and knack for blitzing at the right time made him immensely valuable when the Vikings’ defense was at full strength with players like Everson Griffen, Harrison Smith, Danielle Hunter, Xavier Rhodes, Linval Joseph and Eric Kendricks.
It was with Zimmer and that group of players that Barr found a home away from home. Having grown up in Los Angeles, when he visited the Vikings before entering the 2014 draft, he was hoping that he wouldn’t be forced to come to icy Minnesota.
“I was in my t-shirt, my shorts, and I got off the plane and it's snowing and I'm like, ‘oh, damn, like this place is different,’” Barr said. “I was like, hopefully we don't come here because I'm not trying to be dealing with the snow in April and then six weeks later they called and I was like, ‘damn!’ But it ended up working out And now I actually love the snow more than I do the heat. So that's kind of weird how that changed being a Cali boy. But now I'm full Minnesota.”
He didn’t become “full Minnesota” just because the Vikings won a lot of games during his time or that his body adjusted to the cold weather. Barr formed a tight bond with his teammates, several of whom were in attendance at TCO Performance Center on Monday.
“The relationships are really kind of what stand out,” Barr said. “The people are what you remember the most. You remember the games, you remember the plays, the practices, and all that, but it's really the people that make this whole thing so special.”
In particular, his closest friend Eric Kendricks, who introduced him during the press conference by telling a story about Barr throwing up before games. Barr returned the favor by adding an anecdote about Kendricks needing to know that his hair looked good before taking the field. The two players were college roommates, lived in the same building as Vikings and live in the same neighborhood still in Los Angeles. They formed one of the best linebacking duos in the NFL in part because of their closeness.
“I think we have similar upbringings, I think similar morals and beliefs and just work ethic,” Barr said of Kendricks. “And going through college is not a glamorous position to be in when you're trying to grind your way through it. We got out the mud. We would work out together, we'd go to class together. We really challenged each other to be to be better. It was trying to one up each other and workouts and all that and the competition made us really close.”
As far as the game that stood out to him most during his career, he picked one from his second season where the Vikings showed signs of a team on the rise around Zimmer’s top draft pick by winning the division.
“The one that I always think of is the game up in Green Bay in 2015, where we clinched NFC North,” Barr said. “Kind of at the last second. [Aaron] Rogers’ Hail Mary, where the clock expired, but they obviously let them get it off, because it's kind of how they operate up there. And we ended up winning, and that ended up being in the NFC championship…It was fun, it was cold, it was against our division rivals up at their place. Knock 'em off to win the NFC North, that was the very one that stands out.”
Barr left the Vikings following the 2021 season but he did have a chance to play for Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores in 2023 when he returned for the stretch run of that season. Barr revealed that he had been in Philadelphia getting fitted for a helmet when the Vikings called and asked if he wanted to come back to Minnesota. He immediately left the Eagles and headed for the Midwest again.
That story is pretty revealing. The Vikings were not just a place where Barr used to work.
“It was important to me to retire as a Viking because the community means so much, the franchise means so much,” Barr said. “This franchise changed my life. Coming here in May 2014 as a young boy really trying to find his way, playing the game he loves his whole life and got a chance to showcase his talents here.”
The longtime Viking linebacker may represent a past era but he did have enough time with the current leadership group in 2023 to get a sense of the current leadership.
“I really like where things are from a more outside perspective now but when I was here in '23, the leadership was exactly where it should be,” Barr said. “I think, with the times that we're in now, I think they fit perfectly. I think Kevin O'Connell is a great leader, a very good communicator, obviously a very smart guy, and very relatable, someone that you could go have lunch with and have an easy conversation with, but also demanding and knows his X’s and O’s what he wants from his guys.”
As for Flores’ defense, when the defensive coordinator says that he doesn’t have a set scheme, Barr said that he’s not joking.
“It was kind of crazy, there was no playbook when I got here,” Barr said. “It was just like, ‘yeah, we just kind of made up this defense.’ I was like, all right, well, how do I learn it? He's like, ‘I don't know. Just go out there and figure it out.’ I was like, alright, sweet. So that was different. But it was really cool. He has the guys now in place to go out and play his type of ball, and I expect the defense to be solid.”
As far as the next phase of Barr’s life, he is engaged. He doesn’t know what else is in store, other than that he will be carving out time to watch his team on Sundays in the future.
“I really enjoy watching games now,” Barr said. “Every game is stressful, seemingly. But now I can really be a fan and put my purple hat on and be a homer and really support the guys.”
Everyone seems to like Barr except Aaron Rogers and the Packers.
Great stuff, big fan of AB and wishing him well as he watches games like the rest of us!!!!