Dennis Green defines why the NFL is so tough. A good coach, with good records but forgotten for almost everyone.
Dennis Green is one of the pioneers all along the NFL. He is the second Afro-American head coach in the modern days of the league (third in all NFL history) and the first who has not played at NFL. Ironically, Green was also the fifth Head Coach in Minnesota Vikings history. But being a pioneer is not a way to say he was a bad HC. To sum up his resume, Green made the Playoffs in eight of his 10 seasons in Minnesota, creating one of the best offense in NFL history.
But Dennis Green is forgotten by the public eye because he never won a SB ring as a Head Coach. Also, his years in Cardinals were negative for his reputation although Green caught a lifeless franchise and made them a fighting team but without reaching any year a positive record. But, sadly, the only thing that Green is remembered for is his historic rant against his own team. I will talk about this in the article, but the truth is that Green was much more than that. He was the example to many after him and one of the brightest minds of the 90s game.
Dennis Green and the offense of the century
Dennis Green started his career in the NFL in 1979 as a Special Teams coach for San Francisco 49ers. After that, Green had his first Head Coach opportunity at Northwestern University. Five seasons later Green was dismissed and he went back to San Francisco as a WR coach, to work with a legend like Jerry Rice. He won a SB in the team and Stanford hired him as a HC, having much better results than her predecessor. Stanford started slowly, with a 3-8 record in his first season; at 1991 he achieved 8 wins and the first berth in a Bowl since 1986.
The retirement of Jerry Burns made Minnesota hire Green for his first NFL HC experience. Student of Bill Walsh and still suffering the disastrous results of the Herschel Walker trade, Green was Coach of the Year in his first season. Minnesota was again in the Playoffs and won the NFC Central with 11 victories, but the team fell short against Washington Redskins. Following years had a similar result with only one difference, Quarterback. En 1993, Jim McMahon, in his declining years, was the QB1. After him, Moon was the starting QB for two and a half year and Brad Johnson made the last half of the year because Moon was injured. Between 1992 and 1996, Minnesota was in Playoff 4 times, but for part of the management it was not enough.
Management trying to sign Lou Holtz and Minnesotan press attacking Green produced a response of Dennis in his autobiography, criticizing both parties. Of course, the response of Green was logical, in 1996 they tried to fire him and the press wanted someone “who could win the SB”. In the middle of all that controversy, no one remembered that Minnesota had been playing with QBs at the declining moment of their career and still, Minnesota was a perennial contender, having a spot at the Playoffs almost every year. In 1997 with Randall Cuningham, Minnesota won the wild card game after coming back from a 9 point deficit with only 90 seconds to go agains the New York Giants. In the divisional, Steve Young´s 49ers were too much for Minnesota. It was almost a delusion to think that Minnesota would be the favorite to win 1998 SB.
Until 1997, Minnesota was based in two names, Cris Carter as the offense star and John Randle as the defense star. Two of the best players in Vikings history had little to none options of winning the SB even though Cunningham signing made a huge improvement in the team. But drafting Randy Moss allowed Dennis Green to redefine his West Coast Offense, becoming a Juggernaut.
With the most explosive offense of the century, Minnesota destroyed almost every record of a season. In every game of 1998, Minnesota scored 24 points or more, breaking the record of single season points. Vikings won 12 games with more than 10 points of difference, finishing the season with a 15-1 record. Randy Moss also had the most TDs in a season ever recorded at that year. But not only Moss and Carter had elite seasons, Robert Smith run for more than 1000 yards. That means that pass attack was the best of the league but rush was also a top 10. The only weakness was the secondary defense because the front seven was commanded by John Randle.
None of this would eventually matter in the NFC conference finals. A Field Goal of only 39 yards was missed by Gary Anderson, not allowing Minnesota to close the game. Winning by 7 points at the two minutes warning, the missed FG and a dropped interception allowed Atlanta Falcons to draw the game and send it to overtime. In extratime, Falcons won it with a FG and Minnesota lost their biggest option to win a SB in the last 30 years. This would also mean the last full season of Randall Cunningham, which was a setback to the title hopes.
But Minnesota was still competitive in 1999 y 2000, combining the rush game with a new QB. After Jeff George, Daunte Culpepper was named the starter for the 2000 season. Both seasons would end in a disappointing note. En 1999, St. Louis Rams won in a shot out but 2000 was even worse. Minnesota arrived to the NFC Conference Game and was shut down by the New York Giants. The game was the beginning of the end for the franchise, with John Randle playing his last game as a Vikings.
2001 was an absolute disaster. Korey Stringer died at training camp by a heatstroke and the team did not recover. Dennis Green grew as the polarizing figure of the team, with loads of fans but also many detractors of his style. A bad season with only five wins was enough to end his work in Minnesota. With him, Cris Carter would retire (he came back for a brief stint in Miami) and Vikings would enter in a downward spiral for the next five years. Dennis Green ended his tenure in Minnesota being the second best HC in Vikings history, only behind the legendary Bud Grant (and he is still in that position if we look to the W-L record).
Back to competition in Arizona
It is difficult to understand the years of Dennis Green with Arizona Cardinals without explaining the franchise. Cardinals arrived to the south of USA en 1988 and the results didn´t have to wait. Arizona spent eight years to get a non negative record (8-8), ten to get a Playoff berth. During all this time, the mentality in Arizona was similar to the Cleveland Browns from 2005. Cardinals knew they were bad, all the NFL was sure about that. When Green arrives at 2004, the franchise biggest win in the century was an upset against the Vikings in a Week 16, knocking Minnesota out of the Playoff
With this sense of being a bad team, Cardinals signed Green in 2004 with hopes of him making the same process that he did in Minnesota. No one believed in Playoffs but at least they hoped Arizona would become a competitive team. And, even though no one know when he left, Green did an amazing work in bringing pride back to Arizona. His numbers were negative but many experts think that 2008 SB cannot be explained without the influence of Green, with his work and his personnel. But Green´s first year in Arizona was marked by something that happened outside football. Pat Tillman, a great safety for the Cardinals who left the league to protect his country, was killed by friendly fire during Iraq War.
The death of Tillman would be remembered in Cardinals uniforms and in the hearts of the fans. But everything was not dark as Arizona had their first idol since Tillman. Larry Fitzgerald was the first choice of Dennis Green in the draft; ironically both have met each other because Fitzgerald was a ball kid at Minnesota training camps. 6-10 was the record of the year, improving the results of last year but two awful loses against San Francisco 49ers (only two wins of the franchise) made Playoffs impossible. 2005 included the signing of Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald had his break out alongside Anquan Boldin. But a weak run attack and a disappointing defense only allowed 5 victorias, a result that was expected.
2006 on the other hand was different. Arizona went to a new stadium and with their first round at the draft, elected Matt Leinart, the USC standout QB. Fans had high hopes for the season but the first games were an absolute train wreck. Getting to bye week with a 1-7 record looks awful but reality was even worse. Against St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears (a game I will discuss later) it was a winnable game that the team lost with surprising mistakes. Losing against Chicago was one of the biggest reasons for his departure but the season did not end at the bye.
In the last eight weeks, Arizona showed a vast improvement. Cardinals won 4 games, including a huge upset against the Playoff bound Seattle Seahawks. Nevertheless a 5 win season was enough for the Arizona Cardinals to send Green home. But Dennis set that year the seeds to 2008 eight success. He was the one who selected Fitzgerald and gave Warner his last chance and his Defensive Coordinator was also in the staff for the SB. Although his results were not good, with Green Arizona started to believe in their options. Ironically, in the same ways as it happened in Minnesota, his good work reshaping the franchise was the main reason for his dismissal, something weird in the NFL.
The rant
Before I did not want to expand about this but the number one reason for his firing was the historic rant against the Chicago Bears. The rant is a moment when a coach or player explodes with cameras and starts to get mad about something. In Dennis Green case, he was furious because he lost to one of the worst QB games in the recent memory and it was not his QB. Rex Grossmann had an almost perfect, in the worst possible way, game, 4 interceptions, 2 fumbles and 0 points of the offense combined for a QBR of less of 5 points (QBR goes from 0 to 100).
Having said that, Arizona game plan was working perfectly, they have scored and Chicago offense was next to nonexistent. But Brian Urlacher in defense and Devin Hester as a returner destroyed the Cardinals. For the first time in history, a team erased a 20 point lead without scoring any offensive Touchdown. Those Cardinals commanded by Green have played Chicago in the third game of preseason and they knew how to make them pay: Scoring fast, do not lose the ball and use the lack of talent of Rex Grossmann. No one could expect the fury of Green when he arrived at the press conference. After all, the Bears were an undefeated team and Cardinals were a “bad team”.
Green words have been on repeat for years, they have been used in advertisements and even Green had to say sorry to his own team. But truth is, Dennis was right about Chicago being a winnable team and his rage was understandable. Same as in Minnesota, Green´s tough character and expressing his opinion were definitive to seal his future. Maybe if was a more diplomatic guy, he would not have been fired of any of the teams but it would also mean that he would have probably lost part of what he stand for. Dennis did not accept no-sense and he was as tough as beloved by his players. Green helped Moss to become a beast when he was a rookie, he revitalized Carter´s career, helped Fitzgerald to improve and gave Kurt Warner his last chance. And all this was made by making a brand new offense.
Legacy
Probably the image of Randy Moss crying when he is asked about Coach Green can cover all the words. Green could be a tough guy, someone who pushed his players but he was a good man and a good father figure for his player. Even if we only take the sport related side, he was a pioneer as a black coach and he was great as a HC. Green died in 2016 after suffering a stroke and only then he got the honors he deserved. Only in 2018 the Minnesota Vikings inducted his best coach in 30 years to the Ring of Honor.
Green could not see Randy Moss at the HOF, he could not track many of the kids he gave second chances how they succeed and he cannot hear what his old players say about him. Old players compare him to Belichick and Coughlin but calling him a father figure and someone to look up to. Belichick inducted Randy Moss to the HOF with all the right of the world (Bill was the one who recover Randy after Oakland) but if Green was still alive, both should be inducting Randy to the HOF.
Green was unfairly criticized by some arrogant press members in Minnesota. He was attacked by incompetent management, who threw him under the bus after only one negative season, having tried the same move when the team was always in Playoff. Dennis is now used as a joke and someone who lost his temper only because he thought his players could win an undefeated team (and rightfully so). But for those who knew him, he was one of the best coaches to create and shape talent, specially at the WR position. That is the true legacy of Dennis Green.
Maybe Dennis Green will not be a conversation theme in the near future. It is almost certain that his name will be forgotten because right now is the only thing relevant in the news. But Coach Green will always live in the memory of many players and fans of Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals. Furthermore, he will always be a role model for many young black people who want to become a football coach. Three years late, but here is my particular thank you to Dennis Green for his amazing career.
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