Mike Zimmer Calls Mike McCarthy Getting Fired by Packers 'Sad' and a 'Mistake'

The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers are NFC North rivals on the field, but the former's head coach put that aside and offered words of encouragement for the fired Mike McCarthy.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer called Green Bay's decision to part ways with McCarthy "sad" and a "mistake" while praising his coaching abilities, per Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune.

The comments came after the Packers announced the firing and the decision to turn toward Joe Philbin as the interim head coach. Team president and chief executive officer Mark Murphy explained the rationale behind the decision in the announcement:

"The 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers. As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately. Mike has been a terrific head coach and leader of the Packers for 13 seasons, during which time we experienced a great deal of success on and off the field. We want to thank Mike, his wife, Jessica, and the rest of the McCarthy family for all that they have done for the Packers and the Green Bay and Wisconsin communities. We will immediately begin the process of selecting the next head coach of the Green Bay Packers."

McCarthy won a Super Bowl and sported a 125-77-2 record during his 13 years as the Packers' head coach, but Green Bay has fallen behind its divisional rivals of late. Zimmer's Vikings won the NFC North last season on the way to the NFC Championship Game and sit ahead of the 4-7-1 Packers following Sunday's results.

Green Bay is looking up at the 8-4 Chicago Bears and 6-5-1 Vikings with just four games remaining in the regular season. What's more, it was 7-9 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2008 campaign.

Zimmer thinks it is a mistake, but the Packers were trending in the wrong direction under McCarthy's leadership.