Rest in peace, Coach Green, you glorious man you. Dennis Green doesn’t get enough credit and never really did. Green was the second black coach in the NFL, ever, and he did wonderful things with the Minnesota Vikings organization. I remember first getting really deep into football around the time Green was the coach and almost switched over to the Vikings as a fan thanks to his teams and their incredible offenses. The Randall to Randy show in 98 was something to behold and might have been more fun to watch than either of the only two offenses to ever eclipse it (2007 Pats and 2013 Broncos). Man, I loved the Vikes as a kid. Glad I never switched teams fully, that would have ended in some heartbreak. A lot. Still root for them though, they are the best NFC North team.

Poor Dennis had Andy Reid Syndrome in Minnesota. The classic case of the coach who is good enough to consistently reach the playoffs but not the top. They tend to become victims of their own success because fans get complacent with the playoff appearances and the playoff losses start to feel like missing the playoffs somehow. Football is such a chaotic sport (thats why we love it so) and fans really should learn to be more appreciative of a coach who gets the team to the dance every season. That’s all a team needs. A chance. Several teams have proven that. If your coach can get you those chances, he’s a good coach. But Green was fired after one down year after 5 consecutive playoff appearances. Short sighted and I’m sure Vikings fans are still unhappy about it.

It’s also a shame that Dennis Green is more or less famous not for his success but for a single angry tirade after a loss to the Chicago Bears when his Arizona Cardinals flubbed an easy win over a mistake prone Bears team led by THE SEX DRAGON (but not on his best day). Green went into the press conference and yelled THEY WERE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE AND WE LET THEM OFF THE HOOK. From that point on, Green was a meme, and his professional coaching career more or less ended. After that season he was fired and never coached in the NFL again. I can’t imagine how the man must have felt after watching one of the worst team meltdowns in history, he didn’t deserve his fate for that. Although at least in some ways, Dennis Green can live on forever thanks to that clip, as now it is a part of NFL lore.

Now we just have to wait for Jim Mora to die and I can write the exact same blog post with a few details changed.