Brad Childress Fired: 20 Biggest Blunders of His Tenure in Minnesota
Brad Childress fired? Believe it. Multiple media outlets are reporting that the Vikings' embattled head coach has, in fact, been let go, after 10 of the most dysfunctional games in team history.
Childress has never been on terribly solid ground in Minneapolis, and his five-year tenure with the team has been pockmarked by questionable playcalling, stunning personnel decisions, and regular clashes with players.
But of all the things Chilly has done wrong thus far, what's the worst? We're ranking the 20 biggest mistakes the coach has made during his tenure in the Metrodome, and breaking down the dumbest things he's ever done.
20. Sage Rosenfels and Tavaris Jackson
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Look, I know Rosenfels isn't anything close to a real NFL starter, and Jackson might not be. But when the Vikes signed Rosenfels to a deal in 2009, he was told he'd have a legitimate chance to win the starting quarterback job in Minnesota.
Tavaris Jackson was promised something similar in the same season, only for the Vikings to sign Brett Favre, who instantly became the starter without taking a snap.
Now, if you're trying to foster a positive environment for your team, and keep them happy and focused, throwing two players you'd said would get a fair shot at the starting job to the curb isn't a good way to do it.
19. Not Addressing The
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All I'm saying is if he wound up sitting in a kitchen with Chris Hansen, explaining what he was doing there, I wouldn't be shocked.
18. The Double Standard
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So, let me see if I get this straight. When Brett Favre criticizes the playcalling, nothing happens to him. But when any other player does the same thing Favre does, they're gone quicker than you can say "Crappy coach"?
That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
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17. Marcus Robinson
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Remember Robinson? He was leading the Vikings in touchdown receptions near the end of the 2006-07 regular season, Chilly's first season at the helm. He wasn't a great wideout, but he was a good one having a strong year that year.
However, the Vikes were 6-9 at that point, and Robinson was none too pleased; a logical sentiment for a football player.
Robinson's error, in Chilly's eyes, was to talk to the media about it. So the head coach cut him. On Christmas Eve. And you thought Scrooge was bad.
16. The Percy Harvin Situation
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Harvin is currently a wideout in Minnesota, and he's one of the team's most versatile and talented weapons.
He's also battling an ankle sprain that has limited him in practice recently.
But, there he was, on the field Friday after injuring the ankle against New England, limping through drills. Except, in Chilly's eyes, he wasn't trying hard enough. Chilly told him so, Harvin said his ankle hurt, and Chilly asked him to submit to more testing.
According to team sources, the discussion got so heated that the pair had to be separated to avoid a fistfight.
Because, the best way to coach a football team is by bullying hurt players into playing.
15. Troy Williamson's Grandma
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Williamson was a Vikings wide receiver, and a former first-round pick. In 2007, his grandmother died, and the speedy wideout headed to South Carolina for the funeral.
However, he failed to return in time for Minnesota's game against San Diego that Sunday, so Childress did what any caring human being would do: he fined Troy that game's pay.
Childress eventually relented, and gave Williamson the check, but not before he'd managed to piss off yet another chunk of Vikings players, fans and personnel.
14. Adrian Peterson
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Peterson is one of the best running backs in the NFL. He's got speed, size, power; he's the complete package.
But Chilly seems to prefer to throw the football and lose, rather than giving AP the workload a back of his caliber deserves.
One need look no further than Sunday, when Peterson had just 14 carries, to see what I'm talking about. It's not rocket science; when you've got one of football's best running backs ever, you run the ball.
13. Gus Frerotte
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Gus Frerotte is no Brett Favre. But during the 2008-09 season, Frerotte had led the Vikings to the playoffs, somewhere they weren't even supposed to sniff.
So, as any quarterback would, Frerotte said he'd love to start in 2009.
What did Chilly do? He cut Gus, before the Favre signing was even on the table. Gus has been a critic of Chilly's ever since.
12. Terrible Press Conferences
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Press conferences were an excruciating experience while Chilly was in Minnesota. There's little smiling, less laughter, and almost nothing learned about the team or their performance. When it's over, you feel like you might actually know less about the Vikings than you did when the conference started.
11. His General Temperament
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Let's face it: Brad Childress' nickname of Chilly was more an indictment of his personality than it was a clever play on his last name.
Chilly has been icy cold since he got to Minnesota in 2006. He's not friendly with players, ownership, management, anyone. He seldom smiles, and he's usually screaming at some player for not running his briliantly designed play correctly.
Maybe, if he cracked a smile or let a laugh slip every once in a while, people wouldn't have been calling for his head as soon as things went south.
10. The 2010 NFC Championship Game
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Remember the end of this game? The Vikings and Saints are tied, and Minnesota have the ball in New Orleans territory with about a minute to play. All they have to do is run up the gut a time or two, then kick the game-winning field goal, right? They've got Adrian Peterson, it should be simple.
Wrong! Childress calls a pass play, which is promptly intercepted. The Saints go on to win the game.
9. Sunday's Game
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Chilly had done a good job of weathering the storm through 10 weeks of the season, but in Week 11 against the hated Green Bay Packers, the wheels came off completely.
The Vikings looked completely overwhelmed and lost, and struggled to move the ball at all. The defense seemed lackadaisical, and allowed the Packers to pass and run on them almost at will.
It was the worst performance of a season full of disappointing games for Minnesota, and it probably was the final straw in Chilly's tenure in the Metrodome.
8. Matt Birk
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Matt Birk was the Vikings' beloved center for 11 years. He was the anchor of the offensive line, and the heart and soul of the team as a whole. He'd talked of ending his career with the Vikings, and many figured he'd do it.
What they didn't factor in was Chilly. Childress drove Birk up a wall with his dictator tactics and general grumpiness. So, Birk went to Baltimore, but not before he served up a bit of payback, telling the world that Childress had been a major factor in his decision.
In other words, Chilly was directly responsible for his offense losing one of it's leaders. Talk about boneheaded.
7. Not Listening To Players
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Childress is a dictator, plain and simple. And dictators don't like outside opinions much. And by much, I mean at all.
So for players who come from teams and colleges where input is welcomed and encouraged, it can be a tough transition. And by tough, I mean almost impossible.
Take our good friend Randy Moss. He tried to offer suggestions to Minnesota's coaches, only to see Chilly utilize zero of them in Minnesota's loss to the Patriots. If you're trying to keep your team afloat after a tough start, maybe you should, oh, I don't know, listen to them?
6. The Brett Favre Press Conference
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October 24, 2010. The Vikes just lost to the Green Bay Packers, largely because of three second-half interceptions thrown by quarterback Brett Favre.
After the game, rather than defending his quarterback, like most coaches would, Chilly instead threw Favre under the bus, ran him over, then back over him again for good measure.
"You can't throw it to them, you've got to play within the confines of our system," Childress said of Favre. "Sometimes it's OK to punt the football. You can't give seven points going the other way, not in a game like this."
Favre had played nice with Childress up until this point, but the moment the coach turned on him, Chilly lost any respect (and motivation) Favre may have had left.
5. The Randy Moss Debacle
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Randy Moss likes to speak his mind. Chilly likes to cut players who speak their minds. Moss rarely plays within the confines of an offensive system. Chilly cuts guys who do that.
But, Moss was loved by owner Zygi Wilf, who signs Chilly's paychecks. So, the owner was understandably upset when his shiny new toy, the one he'd given up a precious draft pick to get, was promptly cut by Chilly after three games, and with no discussion or warning.
What a great way to endear yourself to your boss than to make a personnel decision without using the system he has in place to make those decisions?
4. Lying To The Media
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Chilly's never been the most honest and forthcoming head coach in the NFL when it comes to the media. Bill Belichick is like Chatty Kathy when compared to Brad.
So, when he lies to the media on the rare occasion he actually gives them something useful, they're understandably upset.
If he were a bit more honest with them, do you think they'd have called for his head so quickly?
3. Stubborn Playcalling
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Chilly's a stubborn guy. So, when he draws up a gameplan for an opponent, the last thing he wants to do is change it because of some silly reason like it's not working.
It's that unwillingness to adjust, adapt and change that got Childress into this mess.
2. Piss Off The Owner
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Let me put it to you like this: when the guy who signs your paychecks also determines whether you stay or go, it's typically best to do what he says and not piss him off.
Unless, you're Chilly, and you're a jerk who rubs everyone the wrong way. In that case, you do everything you can to get under his skin and get fired.
1. Be a Generally Terrible Coach
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When your players hate you, your owner doesn't like you, the fans don't like you, and the team isn't winning because you're too stubborn to make adjustments or change your style of play, that's a pretty good indicator that you're aiming to get fired.
For Chilly, the biggest mistake he made was being terrible at his job. It ultimately cost him that position, and probably will keep him from getting another head coaching job in the NFL anytime soon.
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