Yesterday's atrocious outing against Green Bay left little doubt that this was coming:
Vikings owner Zygi Wilf made the move Monday morning that many at Mall of America Field called for during the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon. He fired coach Brad Childress.
To some extent getting fired is just part of the coaching job. When you win you're a hero and when you lose you're a dog. Just the way it is. One might think that a 12-4 season earns one a bit more goodwill to see a tough season through, but that was part of Childress' problem. After that 12-4 season the owner did everything possible to keep that team intact and for the most part he did. Expectations were high and so the 3-7 record is all the more disappointing. I don't think I've ever seen a head coach go from hero to zero so fast.
Where did it go wrong? I think the first area where Childress lost control was on the wide receiver corps. Letting Sidney Rice screw around about getting his hip surgery turned out to be a disaster as there was nobody available to fill that role by the time it was apparent that Rice was going to miss the first half of the season. I think that was a contributing factor to Favre getting off to a rough start, but Favre needs to shoulder his share of blame for his play also.
With the offense going three and out way too often, the defense has been unable to rise to the occasion. Childress is not solely responsible for the lack of pass rush or the poor play of the cornerbacks, but he is ultimately the one accountable.
I hope though, that we don't hear too many anonymous cheap shots at Childress from the team. The press is going to be hunting for those and the players should have the grace to recognize that their poor play contributed as much as any coaching mistakes. It's done, just regroup and move on like professionals are supposed to do.
I never cared much for Childress as a head coach, though he earned some respect from me for the 12-4 record last year. I'm not sorry to see him go, but I have no ill will for him either. And I guess he will still get $6 million over the next two years so, you know, I think he'll be okay. Good luck, Brad.
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