MINNEAPOLIS -- Wednesday afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings will finally get what they've wanted for months: Mike Zimmer, in a room with Adrian and Ashley Peterson, talking candidly to the couple about the Minnesota Vikings' promising young roster, his vision for the team, and how well a fully committed Peterson would fit into it.

There won't be any agents, business executives, sponsors or reporters at Peterson's home outside Houston in a meeting that a league source said Peterson agreed to "because of his respect for Zimmer." When the coach and general manager Rick Spielman arrive for the sit-down, Zimmer will get a chance to make his pitch to Peterson. It's probably not a stretch to call it the Vikings' best shot to keep him.

When Peterson told ESPN last month that he was "uneasy" about returning to the Vikings, who he felt hadn't supported him after he was indicted on child injury charges last September, he was quick to point out his deep respect for Zimmer. "Coach Zimmer -- I love that guy, even though I only played one game for him," Peterson said. It was a face-to-face conversation with Zimmer last spring that pulled Peterson out of his funk after the Vikings fired Leslie Frazier, and the coach's ability to shoot straight with Peterson and his wife could have the same effect Wednesday.

If Zimmer is driving the conversation, though, we shouldn't expect him to beg for Peterson's return. The coach has made it clear there needs to be reciprocal interest, and while he'll undoubtedly try to sell Adrian and Ashley Peterson on the upside of being in Minnesota -- both on and off the field -- he won't have any desire to bring back a malcontent. The Vikings begged Brett Favre to return in 2010, with disastrous results, and Peterson would see through such an approach anyway.

"I wish it was that simple as a conversation, but it’s not, it’s way deeper than that," Peterson told ESPN last month. "I’ve prayed about it a lot. It's definitely not that easy, just to have the conversation. People are saying what they need to say. In any situation, people will say whatever they need to say to heal the wounds and make things better. I discovered that a long time ago, and I’ve seen it in the past year."

Rather, if Peterson tells the Vikings he doesn't want to be back, the team can begin to make other plans. The Vikings haven't been able to sit in a room with the running back for nearly six months, and Wednesday's meeting will help them get an unfiltered sense for Peterson's mindset. There's no doubt the Vikings want Peterson back, and they're in a strong enough cap situation to pay him his full $12.75 million salary next season. But Peterson said last month that the decision comes down to more than who can pay him the most.

"As far as me being happy, my family being happy, it's bigger than [money]," he said.

There's no doubt Peterson's situation put the Vikings in a bind last fall, and we can debate whether the Vikings have anything for which to apologize. In the end, though, the only thing that matters is what's going on inside Peterson's head, and Wednesday is the Vikings' best chance to figure that out before the new league year starts Tuesday.

The meeting outside Houston is a productive step in that process -- it strips away the layers between Peterson and the Vikings' football operation -- but the Vikings' best move is to let Zimmer talk. Both men value directness, and it's that quality about Zimmer that helped win over Peterson in the first place. If things go well Wednesday, the Vikings will leave knowing more about what Peterson wants. Maybe they'll even leave with a commitment from the running back to return next season. Getting Zimmer and Peterson face to face, though, is the best development in this saga for the Vikings in quite some time.