Brad Childress is supposed to be an offensive guru
Brad Childress is supposed to be an offensive guru
However, Childress stumbled in his first year and never fully gained the faith of the nfl jerseys fans -- or some of his players.
Childress infamously cut dissatisfied wide receiver Marcus Robinson on Christmas Eve, had trouble connecting and communicating with some of his players and often came across to the public as rigid and aloof.
The offense struggled without a clear solution at quarterback, and it wasn't until last year, when Childress persuaded Favre to put off retirement a second time, that the Vikings finally put up points and became the dominant team that matched the Pro Bowl talent on the roster.
Still, they went from 6-10 to 8-8 to 10-6 to 12-4 in his first four seasons, losing in the NFC title game in overtime last January to the eventual champion New Orleans Saints. Last November, Wilf -- pleased by the stability and the progress -- gave Childress a contract extension. The deal ran through 2013 but the final year was the team's option.
This season almost seemed destined for doom, given how smoothly it all went in 2009 until the very end and how well Favre played last year by taking care of the ball and making age-defying throws into the end zone.
This season, Favre didn't show up for camp until mid-August, and the next week wide receiver Sidney Rice had hip surgery. Wide receiver Percy Harvin missed big chunks of time, mostly because of migraine headaches, and center John Sullivan was out of action for several weeks with a nagging calf injury.
Coincidence or not, the offense was out of sync to start, Favre began turning the ball over at costly times and the Vikings suddenly were missing last year's magic.
Hanging over the team, too, has been the NFL's investigation into whether Favre sent inappropriate text messages and photos to a female employee of the New York Jets two years ago. But it has been the on-field performances that have really stood out.
The relationship between Favre and Childress, which was tense at times in 2009, seemed to sour further when Favre threw three ill-fated interceptions in the Oct. 24 game at Green Bay and the Vikings lost to Favre's old team.
Childress, who was just 3-9 against the rival Packers as Minnesota coach, was sharply critical of Favre's decision-making afterward, and the coach drew his own criticism for failing to challenge a Packers touchdown catch that could've been overturned because the ball was being bobbled.
On Sunday, Favre told ESPN's Ed Werder that he's still stung by Childress' postgame criticism following the 28-24 loss at Lambeau Field in mlb jerseys Week 7.
"It's a damn shame," Favre told Werder about the game in which he suffered two fractures in his left foot. "What I think about is going to my press conference knowing he had taken some shots at me.''
Then the situation really went south following a loss at New England. Wide receiver Randy Moss, acquired in a trade for a third-round draft pick just four weeks earlier, went out of his way to praise the Patriots and criticize Childress in a postgame rant.
The next day, Childress told his players he had cut Moss and never fully explained the situation to them or the public. Wilf was reportedly angry that Childress didn't tell him first of his plan, and there were anonymous reports of growing dissatisfaction in the locker room about the boss. Childress and Harvin got into a heated argument during one practice over an MRI test on the receiver's sprained ankle.
Fans made no secret about their frustration, with thousands of "Fire Chilly" signs distributed on Nov. 7 outside the stadium before the Vikings played Arizona and several chants breaking out from the seats during the game.
The Vikings rallied for an overtime victory over the Cardinals to table the firing talk temporarily, but a 27-13 loss at Chicago on Nov. 14 and the blowout against Green Bay cranked it back up again.
The Packers also blew out Dallas the day before the Cowboys fired Phillips earlier this month. Green Bay linebacker Desmond Bishop posted on Twitter on Monday that he hates to see anyone lose his nfl jersey job.
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