Monday, November 01, 2010

Power Struggle PIts Vikings' Head Coach Against Ownership and Front Office

While there are defensible reasons for Minnesota Vikings' head coach Brad Childress' preference to release wide receiver Randy Moss, apparently Childress did not set forth, defend, or carry out to a resolution those reasons with the Vikings' front office or ownership group, prior to making his announcement of Moss' waiver at 2 p.m. on Monday. As of 5 p.m. on Monday, there was no notice of Moss' waiver filed with the NFL. That meant either that the Vikings had not yet sent notice to the NFL or that the team was not going to release Moss. Either possibility remains in play.

The drama at Winter Park has reached epic proportions, even for a team that has dealt with the Red McCombs' era and Randy Moss in recent years. At this point, it appears virtually even odds that the Vikings will have a new head coach as early as tomorrow, with current defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier the most likely replacement.

Childress' dismissal, impossible one week ago, despite national attempts to fan the Childress flame, now seem more likely than at any time since the Vikings' ownership group came close to dismissing the head coach in 2007. With recent in-game gaffes, poor results despite one of the most highly paid and most talented teams in the league, and the ownership group's on-going efforts not only to secure public funding for a new stadium but also generous public funding for a "state-of-the-art" facility, the Wilfs will be hard-pressed to look the other way this time, favoring a head coach who fans have generally disliked over a mercurial, bizarre wide-receiver who puts fans in the seats, jerseys on fans' backs, money in the teams' coffers, and who has galvanized the fan base, regardless of what that might say about the fan base.

Up Next: Why Not Him, Why Not Now?

5 comments:

KSandbergFL said...

I can't wait for Childress to get fired. In a knee-jerk reaction to the Love Boat scandal, Zygi made a HUGE mistake letting Mike Tomlin go, and hiring his "character guy" -- Brad Childress. Hopefully Zygi will finally hire a FOOTBALL guy, and we can see the Vikes reach their max potential. Les Frazier seems like a logical choice.... Childress can go back to teaching psychology to college students.

bmc13 said...

The Wilfs seem to be bright enough and Spielman seems pretty sharp as well, how do they not see the ineptitude? Childress can spin all he wants, just look at the results on the field, it really can't be ignored.

vikes geek said...

KS,

I assume you mean Mike Tice. Tomlin came in with Childress and left to take the head-coaching position with the Steelers. Frazier certainly presents a more likable public image than does Childress and has NFL experience calling plays (unlike Childress prior to joining the Vikings).

VG

vikes geek said...

BMC,

It's classic denial and sunken costs syndrome. Why the Wilfs are susceptible to these maladies with respect to Childress when they freely move on other tougher calls is anyone's best guess. Like the restaurant owner who frames their first dollar, however, the Wilfs very likely just don't want to part with their own first bill--Childress. That was the most important decision they made when they first arrived in Minnesota and they simply don't want to acknowledge what even the Joel Maturis of the World can see.

VG

KSandbergFL said...

yes, of course.. I meant "let Tomlin go" in the sense that Zygi let him leave town... not in the sense that Childress succeeded Tomlin.