Camp opens without Sparano

EAGAN, Minn. — The football field was Tony Sparano’s element, just like the coaching peers he left behind.

Walking in the freshly cut, bright green grass on Wednesday while directing the Minnesota Vikings through their first practice of training camp was, naturally, the best place for Mike Zimmer to be.

“It takes a little bit of the sting away,” Zimmer said, pausing to recover from a crack in his voice, “of losing a great friend, a great coach, a good man.”

The Vikings and the rest of the NFL were stunned on Sunday when Sparano, their tough-loving offensive line coach, died suddenly at age 56 of heart disease.

“It’ll be a hard few days, but we’ll get through it and we’ll get back to work and do the things that we do,” Zimmer said, “and that’s what he’d want us to do.”

After two days of workouts for rookies and others selected for early duty either due to relative inexperience or a recent injury, the Vikings will take a break Friday to attend Sparano’s funeral in the Twin Cities area. Then the entire team will convene for the first full practice on Saturday.

“The most important thing is when you’re a family, the family is what helps you get through it,” said general manager Rick Spielman, who like Zimmer had to stop for composure several times during an interview session with reporters.

As evidenced during the run last season to the NFC championship game, the Vikings from the top down have forged an environment as tightly knit as any point in their history. The solidarity comes in handy at a tragic time like the unexpected loss of life, but it can also intensify the grief.

“He was a lot like me, probably the only person in the building who was grumpier than I was,” Zimmer said. “But he really cared about his players.”