Brad Childress Fired: 5 Burning Questions for the Minnesota Vikings

The Green Bay Packers have played the role of "HC Killers" over the past month, with two blowout victories over the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys deciding the fate of each team's head coach.

Several reports on Twitter today have stated that Brad Childress has been fired and that Leslie Frazier will take over the Vikings as their interim head coach.

Sometimes this is more of an obligatory move than anything else, especially when the players begin talking about a lack of effort. This is definitely one of those cases.

As usually happens when a coach is fired before the end of a season, there are many questions that are left unanswered. Here are just a few.

What Do the Vikings Have in Leslie Frazier?

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CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 14: Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier of the Minnesota Vikings watches as his team takes on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on November 14, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Vikings 27-13.

The defensive coordinator of the past three seasons for the Vikings has held various coaching jobs in the NFL since 1999.

This will be his first stint as a head coach.

He'll have his hands full if he wants to lift the interim tag, but sometimes a fresh voice is just what a locker room needs when they're in as much dismay as the Minnesota Vikings.

Is he a good leader? Can he handle the job? For owner Zygi Wilf, there's no better time than 3-7 to find out.

Will Brett Favre Finish the Season?

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MINNEAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 21: Quarterback Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings looks for an open receiver while playing the Green Bay Packers at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on November 21, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/

To put it plainly, Leslie Frazier doesn't quite have the same obligation to Favre that Childress had when he basically mortgaged the locker room to throw himself at Favre's feet.

Favre has thrown 10 touchdowns and 19 interceptions this season, and amidst his poor play on the field, he's also become an off-field liability with the recent scandal swirling around him.

Frazier needs to put his stamp on this team, but he also needs to win games if he wants to remove the "interim" label in 2011 and remain Minnesota's head coach.

Will the Players Try Harder for Frazier?

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MINNEAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 07: Running back Adrian Peterson #28 of the Minnesota Vikings carries the ball against cornerback Greg Toler #28 of the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on November 7, 2010 in Minneapolis, Min

When the Vikings pulled out a miracle win over the Arizona Cardinals in the waning minutes of their game a couple of weeks ago, reports broke the next day from anonymous Vikings "player sources" that the players weren't playing for Childress anymore, but for themselves.

This past week, the feeling was that not all the players were putting forth their maximum effort.

We saw similar circumstances lead to Wade Phillips' firing in Dallas, and the very next week the Cowboys gave a full-tilt effort in a big "upset" win over the division rival New York Giants. Maybe something similar could be in the works in Minnesota.

Are Their Playoff Hopes Over?

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MINNEAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 21: Head coach Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings on the sidelines against the Green Bay Packers at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on November 21, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Changing head coaches may change culture and mindset, but it certainly doesn't change the immediate prospects for the Vikings' 2010 season.

This season has been marred by poor play as well as poor coaching. That being said, although the change at head coach may carry weight for the outlook of this franchise moving forward, it will take much more than that to turn this team around.

The defensive line will have to start getting pressure on quarterbacks. The offensive line will have to stop letting the pressure get to theirs. Myriad solutions could be listed, but really, the team needs to play better and try harder from top to bottom.

But at 3-7 with not much football left to play, that may be too little, too late.

Where Does the Team Go from Here?

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MINNEAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 07: Owner Zygi Wilf of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during warmups for the game with the Arizona Cardinals at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on November 7, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Will the Vikings look for a new head coach in 2011? Will they finally draft a quarterback?

These are just a couple of the questions that will be answered in 2011, but at 3-7, it might be time for the Vikings to start looking in that direction.

For the past two years, they've only looked as far as one season in front of them, and that formula does not a successful franchise build.