Vikings’ Childress must deliver in 2008

By John McMullen  |   Monday, June 23, 2008  |  Comments( 11 )

Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers were both looking for head coaches after the 2005 season, and Brad Childress was a hot commodity.

Childress, then Philadelphia's offensive coordinator, set up interviews with both the Vikings and the Pack, but Minnesota talked to him first. Zygi Wilf, a rookie owner at the time, was so impressed with Childress that he didn't let him leave town, fearing Green Bay would snap him up.

After the Vikings hired him, Childress quickly unveiled the arrogance that has been a staple of his regime in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The new Vikings coach said that "he picked Minnesota," and that "the Vikings didn't pick him."

At the time, Minnesota's job was considered the plum of those available after Mike Tice led the team to a postseason win in 2004 and missed the playoffs by just one game in 2005, despite the penny-pinching ways of ex-owner Red McCombs. The Packer job was considered among the worst of the open gigs. Green Bay was viewed as a talent-starved team with an aging, selfish quarterback who refused to step aside. After losing out on Childress, the Packers were forced to hire an afterthought who came from one of the league's doormats -- Mike McCarthy, who was San Francisco's quarterbacks coach.

Since that fateful offseason, McCarthy and the Packers are 21-11 with an NFC North crown under their belt, while Childress' Vikings are just 14-18. Meanwhile, McCarthy is 4-0 against Childress.

Most of Childress' tenure in Minneapolis has been a disaster. The public relations-challenged mentor has been a tough sell to both Vikings fans and players. A number of Childress' veterans have butted heads with the coach over his vision. Savvy players like Brad Johnson, Marcus Robinson, Jermaine Wiggins and Dwight Smith have all been shown the door after questioning the coach's direction.

A number of checks and balances still remain, most notably secondary members Darren Sharper and Antoine Winfield, but you'd better be playing at a high level if you expect to question Childress. Smith, now a member of the Detroit Lions, was the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week when he was benched for the opening series of a game for insubordination. When asked why he didn't start, the veteran, who reportedly got into an argument with one of his position coaches in practice, simply used "creative differences" as the reason.

Amid all the turmoil, another offseason has come and gone with Wilf spending like a drunken sailor in order to give Childress what he needs to get over the hump.

The team lacked a top-tier pass rush, so Wilf and his checkbook brought in the game's best edge rusher in Jared Allen. The young quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson, didn't have a go-to receiver, so Wilf spent millions to bring in Bernard Berrian. Further, Childress complained about Smith's lack of range on the back end of the defense, so Madieu Williams, a younger, faster player known as a coverage safety, was imported from Cincinnati.

Because of their offseason, the Vikings are a sexy playoff pick by most NFL observers for the 2008 campaign.

It's easy to understand why. While the Pro Bowl isn't exactly the most scientific way to evaluate the NFL, its rosters can give you a feel for the talent level of each team in the league. The Vikings sent seven players to Honolulu and four more members of the team were voted as alternates last year.

That number was second-best in the NFC, but the Vikings were watching the playoffs after dropping their final two games to Washington and Denver. Minnesota welcomed the Redskins to the friendly confines of the Metrodome in Week 16, knowing a win would send them to the postseason. Despite the high stakes, the Vikings didn't show up, losing handily to playoff-bound Washington.

Most of the blame for that game centered on the inconsistent Jackson, who performed poorly in the nationally televised contest, but he had little help. The defense was picked apart by journeyman Todd Collins, and Childress was overmatched by Hall of Fame counterpart Joe Gibbs.

Despite the shaky finish, Childress was off the hot seat after turning around a 3-6 start with five consecutive wins before faltering again and finishing 8-8, a two-game improvement over his disastrous first season with the Vikings.

Did Childress deserve the longer rope?

Probably not. The Vikings had more talent than most of the NFC's playoff teams and underachieved for the second straight season. That makes the Vikings' mentor 0-for-2 since arriving in Minneapolis.

Now he has been given Allen, Berrian and Williams -- not to mention a stable of role players like fullback Thomas Tapeh, safety/special teams standout Michael Boulware, kick returner Maurice Hicks, linebacker Derrick Pope, defensive lineman Ellis Wyms, backup quarterback Gus Frerotte and cornerback Benny Sapp -- to fortify a team that should have already been in the postseason.

Translation: No more excuses.
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About John McMullen

John is the managing editor of The Phanatic Magazine, the assistant managing editor of The Sports Network and the co-host of the highly rated 'Johns on Sports' radio show on WTBQ in New York. Every Saturday from 6:30-9 p.m. (et) you can hear John along with his co-host, John Gottlieb, talk to the...
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