SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Six days ago, Bill Parcells was in a quandary.

As he watched the Vikings and Saints play in the NFC wild-card playoff game, the Hall of Fame coach didn’t know which team to root for. Both head coaches — Mike Zimmer of the Vikings and Sean Payton of the Saints — are former assistants of his and both still are very close to him.

So, Parcells’ emotions were in overdrive watching the Vikings overcome the Saints, 26-20, in overtime.

On Saturday, Parcells will face no such dilemma. As the No. 6-seeded Vikings play the favored 49ers, the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC, in the divisional playoff round at Levi’s Stadium, Parcells can be all in on Zimmer.

The former Giants, Patriots, Jets and Cowboys coach has been preoccupied these days by a 3-year-old filly he owns named “She Throws Heat,’’ which pays homage to his lifelong love affair with baseball.

His horse will run her first race Sunday at Gulfstream Park.

“This is her maiden race,’’ Parcells said. “It’s just like with football players: You never know ’til you put them in the gate what will happen.’’

As invested as the 78-year-old Parcells is in the horse game, though, he’s still passionate about the NFL, especially when it involves his former players and coaches.

Zimmer, a tough-minded man who doesn’t get flustered, was Parcells’ defensive coordinator with Dallas from 2003-06. Parcells adores him for his work ethic and toughness and quietly takes great pleasure in being a mentor of his.

Parcells, as he does with a lot of his former coaches, speaks to Zimmer the day after every game. On schedule, they spoke after Zimmer’s Vikings advanced past the Saints.

“I texted Mike Sunday night and I said, ‘Congratulations, but let’s get to work. You got a game in six days,’ ’’ Parcells said. “He knows that.’’

Parcells watched Vikings-Saints from his Jupiter, Fla., home with conflicted emotions.

“It’s difficult for me, because I do have a very, very strong feeling about both of those guys,’’ he said. “You don’t want anybody to lose. But I couldn’t wait for that game the other day, because I wanted to see how it unfolded. I was watching the game with my grandson, and I told him, ‘Minnesota’s going to watch the fake here,’ and sure enough New Orleans ran a fake punt — 10 seconds after I said it.’’

As he does with many of his former players and coaches, Parcells takes pride in whatever he was able to impart while they were together, and he’s big on staying in touch. Once known as a gruff intimidator in his coaching days, Parcells has softened with age.

Zimmer’s success in Minnesota brings a smile to his face.

“All you have to do is look at what Minnesota was like before he got there,’’ Parcells said. “He’s made them relevant.’’

Parcells won’t say it, but he sees some of himself in Zimmer.

“He’s very tough on the players, but he’s very fair,’’ Parcells said. “They like him. But don’t confuse that with being a players’ coach. He’s not like that. He’s got a job to do and it’s, ‘We’re going to do it; get your ass in gear.’ But he’s very fair. That’s what’s good. He doesn’t evade the truth. He’s very straightforward with them. I think that’s why they respond well to him.’’

Parcells, with those words, perfectly encapsulated some of his strengths as a head coach. He won two Super Bowls doing what he did and went to the Hall of Fame after that.

Maybe Zimmer throws heat Saturday and beats the 49ers to get to the NFC Championship, then gets the Vikings to the Super Bowl and wins it.

The Vikings are 0-4 in Super Bowls. If they win it this year, they’ll erect a statue of Zimmer in Minnesota, frozen forever in time — and the unforgiving Minnesota winter weather.

Super Bowl LIV will be played in Miami Gardens, Fla., about a two-hour drive south of where Parcells lives. You can bet if Zimmer has his Vikings there, the old coach won’t have any conflicts.

If he’s not at Hard Rock Stadium in the flesh, Parcells will be glued to his television set in Jupiter, just like he was for the Vikings-Saints game with his grandson sitting next to him on the couch, predicting plays and pulling for his protégé.