Brad Childress Fired: Seven Reasons Why Chilly Was Doomed
Brad Childress, or "Bald Clueless," as I've once heard him referred to as, was doomed for quite some time in Minnesota. Despite the Minnesota Vikings' banner year in 2009, "Chilly's" demise was even before this in my eyes. Now, in a season that is already over for the Vikes, and has been for a while, Leslie Frazier becomes the "interim" Head Coach.
Chilly's loyalties were all discombobulated in 2010. His unequivocal support of grandfather QB Brett Favre is astonishing. The Vikings were in the final four of the NFL last season, yeah, you heard me right. Just one play away from a Super Bowl appearance. Then a "Favre" throw came about and, oops, there goes the season. What I'm ultimately getting at is that the future is bright for this team without Favre. Tavaris Jackson is more than capable of taking the reins under center and quite frankly should have by now.
This former pupil of Andy Reid never brought his magic from the 2004 Eagles over to Minnesota. Well at least when he did last season, the "Favre" got in the way and made for another miserable ending to a promising season. This followed by yet another indecisive off-season on Favre's part, though he once again decided finally to play on.
Here are seven reasons why Brad Childress was on the ropes and utterly doomed in Minnesota.
7. In-House Issues Became Public
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The Minnesota Vikings have been a cousin to the Dallas Cowboys in many ways this season. Firstly, the talent and personnel is there, there's absolutely no issue there. One of the problems has been setting that talent into motion to make some plays. The names are the same, for the most part, but rather it's the attitude that's changed and led to their cellar-dwellings.
As has been the issue with Jerry Jones' 'Boys, the desire is not there for the Vikings either. The aspects of a football organization that are supposed to be private were left for the public to know. That decimated these two organizations over the course of the season. Between Favre's constant antics for the Vikings and Dallas' entire team seemingly giving up on Wade Phillips, both teams had problems. Keep in mind that Phillips and "Chilly" didn't necessarily help themselves out either.
The Vikings, under Childress, became a hot commodity in the league and now have paid the ultimate price for that. Childress never grasped any real control of this team, particularly after Favre got there last season.
6. They Believed In The Hype
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In retrospect, Brad Childress totally fooled the Minnesota Vikings. After the Philadelphia Eagles' 2004 successes, "Chilly" was without a doubt the most desired coach on the market. After the "Chilly" Sweepstakes were over, the Vikings came out with an offense-minded commander in Childress and a new look towards the future.
The Vikings themselves parted ways with several stars under Childress, all in hopes of establishing a brighter future. This made the Favre move puzzling in a way at the time. Though it seemed like Tarvaris Jackson was ready, they felt as if they could do better and put T-Jax on the back burner. This idea of starting Favre and benching Jackson, never letting him get his career underway, doomed the Vikings. Though they enjoyed success, now with Childress gone, they are back at square one.
Brad Childress was not ready to become an NFL head coach. Even though the 2004 Eagles' offense was lethal, "Chilly" looked lost at times when it was him running the full show. Andy Reid may have taught Childress everything that he knew, but not everything Reid himself knew.
5. The Players Gave Up On Childress
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The Vikings' players were also to blame in this firing to a certain extent. Don't think that they really played every down as hard this year as they did last year. On various occasions this season, it's been clear that the Vikings were rebelling against their coach and quitting. This was definitely not to the same degree as the Dallas Cowboys did to Wade Phillips (i.e. Michael Jenkins against the Packers) but it was still apparent.
No one player in particular was at fault nor could or should be singled out. The Vikings' team demeanor though was on display and was negative throughout this season. Now with a fresh start mid-season and Leslie Frazier taking over, are brighter days ahead for the Vikings? The 'Boys look like a new team under Jason Garrett right now out in Texas.
The game planning hasn't been up to par this season on Childress' end, but neither has the execution on the field. The Vikings played several ugly games this year and never really got past that "Favre" throw in last year's NFC Title Game.
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4. Misuse Of Talent
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The Minnesota Vikings boast great talent on both sides of the football. This point particularly is about the offense though and all of the misused talent that Childress wasted in his time there. Take Adrian Peterson for example. He's a great running back, perhaps the best in the league, yet at times, "Chilly" called mind-boggling plays in terms of Peterson's talent.
Favre also was misused in certain ways. Quite frankly, there were times when he shouldn't have been used at all but was. This was a crucial mistake on Childress' part and led to his rapid downfall in Minnesota. Zygi Wilf was having no more of this and opted for a new start in Week 12 of all times.
Childress' pedestrian 39-35 record was telling of his coaching style and where it had gotten him in Minnesota. For what it's worth, his record could have been far better than this.
3. Zygi Wilf Had Misguided Trust In Childress
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"Coach Childress was the elite NFL head coaching candidate. He embodies class, character and discipline and is a great family man. Bottom line, Brad Childress is a winner."
Let that thought sink in for a moment or two. Think of who could have possibly said that back about five years ago. Yep, that was Zygi Wilf and his thoughts on Brad Childress. Well, the "class, character, discipline, family man" line may be true but that's about it.
Well, as blatantly put out in the picture, Favre too was a big part of the problem. Wilf had all the confidence in the world in Childress and Favre and they failed him. Childress had never been a head coach at any level during his career and it showed. His "obsession" if you will with Brett Favre was overly ridiculous.
Wilf though was to blame in a lot of ways as well. Looking back, how well did Wilf scout this whole thing? He had to know that Childress wasn't the "best" option on the market back in 2006. Well, I guess he didn't and it has set his franchise back as they now scramble and look for more answers.
2. Missed Draft Opportunities
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Throughout his time in Minnesota it was painfully obvious that Brad Childress performed poorly in the draft. With the exception of 2007, when they snagged Adrian Peterson and Sidney Rice, there were not many bright spots in the April draft for Childress.
At one point they had Tyler Thigpen. He starts currently, they had drafted him in the seventh round. Yet they drafted Tarvaris Jackson in the 2nd round and he has rode the bench behind Brett Favre for two years now.
In 2008, they traded three of their first four picks to the Kansas City Chiefs for DE Jared Allen. This wasn't necessarily a bad move, but Allen's had a so-so year in 2010 and draft picks may look better right now. Sounds crazy, but think about it. One defensive player is seldom a game-changing position. Allen has been at times but they can't do it consistently.
Even in 2010, with Childress and the rest of us still unsure of Favre, he missed opportunities to draft several QBs that passed him by. They traded their top pick to the Detroit Lions, a divisional rival, who in turn drafted RB Jahvid Best out of Cal. They passed up on Jimmy Clausen a number of times and failed to trade around to better their chances of grabbing a legitimate QB.
1. Childress' Loyalty To Brett Favre
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Brett Favre never had to worry about "the streak" with Brad Childress as coach. Unless Favre was laid up in a hospital somewhere, he was playing with "Chilly" in charge. This amazing loyalty to a guy like Favre is puzzling. See what you have in your future, Tarvaris Jackson has been waiting in the wings. Better yet, look towards other options wherever they may be.
Childress never even thought twice of who his No. 1 QB was in Minnesota. Favre was "The Guy" and wouldn't be benched. Even with the team floundering well below .500, "Chilly" wouldn't budge. Loyalty in sports is rare in and of itself, this was poor though on Childress's part and led to his firing above all. Whether Favre starts this weekend under Leslie Frazier or not is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that Childress catered to Favre and brought his love-fest with the star QB to an eyeful.
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