Monday, December 30, 1996

By TOM POWERS / Knight-Ridder Newspapers (Dec. 30, 1996)

IRVING - It was early in the second quarter when Dennis Green's title unofficially changed. He went from head coach to lame-duck head coach.

The Cowboys ran roughshod over the Vikings on Saturday, handing them a humiliating 40-15 playoff defeat. This comes after a so-so 9-7 season. Last year, the Vikings were 8-8. Green's teams are 0-4 in the playoffs. They have been outscored 116-50 in those games.

The two words that best sum up Green's future in Minnesota?

Happy trails.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's under contract," insisted CEO Roger Headrick, the wizard who locked up Green with a long-term extension. "As far as I'm concerned, he's the head coach, and that's the way we'll proceed."

Mr. Headrick may be in for a rather large surprise when he finds his office furniture out on the curb next to Green's.

The team has a rotten public image. Green's alleged off-field activities have contributed mightily to that perception. Clearly, many Minnesotans are chilled by this man's presence. Sometimes these things are overlooked when a team performs well. The Vikings have not been able to do that. The team is a mediocrity.

There has to be a change. If for no other reason than to allow the fans to again feel good about their team.

After the debacle in Dallas, Green refused to comment on his future.

"I'm not even going to get in a discussion about tomorrow," he said.

Asked if there was any doubt in his mind about whether he'd be back, Green said: "I have not thought about anything other than the Dallas Cowboys today."

He will think about them for a long time, too. It probably will be the lingering memory of his tenure in Minnesota.

Nine Vikings owners, many of whom are reclusive and more than content to quietly collect their dividend checks, need to show some gumption. They need to cut their losses with this fellow.

The 10th Vikings owner, Headrick, will remain supportive of Green for obvious reasons. Headrick already looks like a knucklehead for giving Green a three-year contract extension when Green still had a couple of years left on his original pact. This will be an expensive parting of the ways. Green has two years and $1.5 million left on his deal.

Headrick had better hope that Green departs voluntarily, perhaps opting for the Oakland Raiders' head-coaching job. Because if the other owners have to fire Green at such a high cost, they surely will next remove the CEO title from Headrick, too.

That wouldn't be a bad move, anyway. The organization needs someone other than a career bean-counter in that high-profile position. There is a growing suspicion that former team President Mike Lynn got the last laugh on the Vikings by choosing Headrick as his hand-picked successor. It just took everyone a while to get the joke.

Meanwhile, Vikings players stood up for Green, announcing to anyone who cared to listen that he was a fine coach and a fine American.

"We love to play for Dennis Green," said quarterback Brad Johnson, who has turned back into a pumpkin after signing a $15.5 million contract two weeks ago. "We hope he's back. We hope we're all back. Right now, there's a lot of uncertainty."

"I like Dennis Green as a coach," linebacker Dixon Edwards said. "Everyone on this team does. I can't see a coach like that having any enemies. He works hard and he has a nice plan."

At first, it wasn't his on-the-field performance that bothered people. It was the off-field allegations concerning Green's personal life. Now, however, there is a direct link to lack of performance. The only other coach to ever lose four playoff games without a single victory is Jim Mora, the former boss of the Saints.

"Anytime you make the playoffs, you've had some relative success," Green said. "But when you lose in the first round, it's not good at all."

The Vikings still haven't won a playoff game in this decade. Green has not accomplished wonderful things here. There were four TV blackouts of home games in '96. During several other weeks, it was nip and tuck as to whether the games would be shown locally.

A lot of it has to do with the team's lousy image. That starts at the top.

If Green doesn't decide to walk, he needs to be shoved out the door. It's better for everyone that way - even him. Surely the Vikings' owners are smart enough to realize that.

(Tom Powers is a sports columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Write to him at: St. Paul Pioneer Press, 345 Cedar Street, St. Paul, Minn. 55101.)

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