Monday, November 22, 2010

Chilly we hardly knew ye

So, will Brett Favre give Chilly a ride to the airport?

Okay, I'll admit I stole that line from a friend of mine, but it kinda sums things up. As you've probably heard, the Vikings gassed Brad Childress this morning and have named Leslie Frazier as the interim coach. A few thoughts:

  • I wrote about Favre this morning and really don't have a lot to add about his situation, except to say that he's been pretty rough on those who would coach him in recent years. His antics probably got Eric Mangini fired in New York and now Brad Childress lost his job.
  • I've spoken with any number of Vikings fans about Childress and while their has been almost universal disgust with his tenure, I'm not convinced that his coaching has been that bad, really. He'd done a very good job of identifying good players and deploying them in positions where they could succeed. If you look at the Vikings roster now and compare it to 2005, when Mike Tice was ashcanned, you will notice that nearly the entire roster has turned over. The results got steadily better for the first four years of the Childress regime, but at the end things went south. While I think you can put a lot of that on Childress and a fair amount on Favre, I think there's plenty of blame to go around.
  • When we get a little distance from things, I suspect that the failed Randy Moss experiment will turn out to be crucial, but not necessarily for the reasons we have thought. Moss has his flaws, but there's evidence that he's actually a pretty shrewd fellow -- our friend Night Writer has said as much in the past. I think you could argue that Moss sized up the situation here and forced his way out precisely because he saw the dysfunction. He didn't want to be part of it and knew exactly how to extricate himself.
  • Leslie Frazier gets the job on an interim basis and a thankless job it is. He's been loyal to Childress, which makes me wonder how easy it will be for him to distance himself from what's been happening this season. The word on Frazier is that he's exceptionally bright and patient, which are admirable traits. My guess is that this team, as it is currently, needs someone who's not afraid to kick some butts. Perhaps Frazier can do that but one has to wonder.
  • As a Packer fan, what's been most interesting is that we've now seen teams fire their coaches in consecutive games after getting whipped by the boys in Green. It's a coincidence, but I think one thing has been clear -- the reason the Packers are still hanging in there while their opponents fade away is that the Packers do a good job of policing egos. Unlike the Vikings or the Cowboys, the Packers show up and do their work every week without a lot of talking. That's a testament to the approach that permeates the team from top to bottom. Mike McCarthy is a thoroughly dull dude but he's obviously able to keep the drama in check. It seems to be a rare skill set.

4 comments:

CousinDan 54915 said...

I've had the chance to talk to Coach McCarthy and hear him speak a few times. The takeaway is this--the Packers really consider the character of the player and if they can't see the fit with the culture, they pass. IF they make a mistake, they move it out. No cancer allowed to spread.
Coach claims that is a team held theory, not just his. Seems to be evidence of that as they stay out of the press for the most part.

Gino said...

i'm thinking part of the probelm was chilly going so overboard for favre.

for two yrs, he never had to attend camp?
he got away with it the fisrt time. the second was maybe a bit much to ask of his team to tolerate? they lost respect for him, if you ask me.

brett seems to have always set himself as something special. too special maybe.
i read a story about rodgers where he says brett barely spoke three words to him in four yrs. the idea that he was understudy is just absurd. brett had no time for the 'kid' who might take some of his luster.

Petercorp said...

I hope that this new guy is as entertaining as the last four that have coached the Vikings have been. They seem to be able to do the same with their main quarterback sacker that plays the line. I dislike this team, but unlike most other teams that I would rather not see win games, they are just so funny to watch.

Gino said...

i think j perterson here hits the mark:
pro sports is about entertainment.
as long as folks are tuning in, the coaching staff is good.