Arizona Cardinals name Dennis Green head coach

MSN ^ | January 8, 2004 | AP

[Fast 1975]

TEMPE, Ariz. - Dennis Green, one of the winningest NFL coaches in the 1990s, agreed to a four-year contract Wednesday to guide the struggling Arizona Cardinals.

The 54-year-old Green, who had a 97-62 record in 10 seasons with Minnesota and led the Vikings into the playoffs eight times, spent the day in San Diego exchanging faxes and phone calls with Cardinals officials in Tempe.

Contract details were finalized Wednesday night. Green will sign the contract Thursday, football operations vice president Rod Graves said. The Cardinals planned to introduce Green at a news conference Friday.

His agent said the deal that made Green the team’s 33rd head coach, contains a club option for a fifth season. The Arizona Republic said the deal was worth $10 million for four years, but Graves declined to discuss details of the contract.

Graves backed Green’s candidacy from the start and said he was confident the Cardinals made the best choice for someone to pilot the chronically losing team.

“Dennis has had great success turning programs around,” Graves said. “He started at Northwestern and then went to Stanford, and he’s had success taking programs who have not performed very well and turned them into championship-type programs.”

Graves and vice president Michael Bidwill flew to San Diego on Tuesday to interview Green for a second time and offered him the job.

“Michael Bidwill and Gary O’Hagan, who is Dennis’ agent, worked very hard to get the details worked out, and they were able to complete it tonight,” Graves said.

Green was 4-8 in the postseason, one of the reasons he was fired late in the 2001 season.

The Vikings went 15-1 in 1998 and wound up losing in the NFC title game. They also lost in the 2000 NFC championship game.

Green made a smooth transition to football commentator on television while looking for opportunities to get back on the sideline. He recently interviewed for the head coaching jobs at Oakland and Washington.

He interviewed for several jobs last season, but wanted more control than any of the teams were willing to give him.

A disciple of former 49ers coach Bill Walsh, Green went to the Vikings from Stanford.

“The attraction of Arizona for Denny is that the Cardinals’ organization has had trouble winning and now a lot of people don’t expect them to start winning,” O’Hagan said. “That creates a lot of upside, an opportunity for success.”

He said the team’s $355 million stadium under construction in Glendale, Ariz., adjacent to the Phoenix Coyotes’ new ice arena, was one of the strong points of the job. The roofed football stadium is scheduled to open for the 2006 season and will host the 2008 Super Bowl.

“They need to have a winning team because they need to sell tickets,” O’Hagan said. “Dennis is a proven winner and that’s what the Cardinals need.”

The Cardinals have had one winning season since 1984, one playoff appearance since 1982 and one playoff victory since winning the NFL title in 1947 as the Chicago Cardinals. Coach Dave McGinnis was fired after Arizona finished 4-12 last season, one of four teams with that league-worst record.

The team’s home fan base has dwindled to about 20,000.

Vikings owner Red McCombs fired Green after the Vikings went 5-10. It was Green’s only losing season. His teams made it to the NFC title game twice, but lost at home to Atlanta after the 1998 season and on the road to the New York Giants after the 2000 season.

Green becomes the fourth black head coach in the NFL, the most the league has had at any one time. The other three are Herman Edwards of the Jets, Marvin Lewis of the Bengals and Tony Dungy of the Colts.

The hiring filled the third of seven coaching vacancies, all taken by former NFL head coaches. Tom Coughlin agreed to coach the Giants on Tuesday and Joe Gibbs ended an 11-year retirement Wednesday to return to Washington.

Still to be filled are vacancies in Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago and Oakland.

Green and former Giants coach Jim Fassel, who was Arizona’s offensive coordinator in 1996, were front-runners for the job. The team also interviewed New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.

[HungarianGypsy]

You must have been one of the cheering Packer fans who loved it when the Cardinals made sure the Vikings didn't get into the playoffs. My neighbor said she and her husband went to that game. He's a big Vikings fan, so she cheered on the Cardinals just to annoy him.
I remember telling my husband it was going to be said to see the Packers almost shut-out the Broncos, and not make it to the playoffs, since it would take a miracle for the Cardinals to beat the Vikings. Looks like someone important wanted to give the Packers a better chance at the Superbowl. LOL!

[Wright is right!]

"I'd rather coach for Snyder than the Bidwells"

B-I-D-W-I-L-L. Not bid WELL.

Michael

[Wright is right!]

"Ahhh...another victim of the Bill Bidwell professional football team tax writeoff scam..."

No, another victim of the Bill Bidwill professional football team tax write-off scam.

Just what, exactly, IS the Bidwill family business that he needs the team as a write-off? I never knew...

Michael

[discostu]

How about: cheapskate punk that talked the league into increasing the blackout zone thus forcing his crappy team's away games on me. We used to get good games in Tucson, now we get blackouts and crud.

[CheezyD]

Green couldn't win in Minnesota. I doubt he will in Arizona. Why hire a proven loser?

[Wright is right!]

"How about: cheapskate punk that talked the league into increasing the blackout zone thus forcing his crappy team's away games on me. We used to get good games in Tucson, now we get blackouts and crud."

There's always NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV. Get every game in the league that afternoon except a game blacked in your zip code.

Michael

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

Joe Gibbs is Back!!! His Redskins trophy case has three Super Bowl trophies in it!

Insert Dilbert Victory Dance here...

[discostu]

I have an obstructed southern view, DirecTV is probably out of the question, I also can't justify the expense for 3 hours a week 16 weeks a year. Although depending on how this pissing contest between Cox and ESPN goes I might have to find a way to make DirecTV work for me, cable without ESPN is kind of pointless.

[sean327]

The Bidwells don't own the Rattlers. They are owned by the same man who owns the Suns and the Diamondbacks. That is why they win. They are also coached by Danny White, ex ASU and Cowboys Quarteback.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Ah! I knew Danny White was (or had ben) coach.

[grumple]

I'm a former St Louis Cardinal fan. Bill Bidwell's main interest in that football team is to generate a new stadium with corporate boxes and the like. He was never interested in producing a winner. The Cardinals have always had mediocre stars with modest backup talent.

He tried the same stadium adventure in Missouri before he moved the team to Arizona. Arizona taxpayers will be paying the majority to fund their new stadium. The people of Missouri caught onto it and would have no part of it. That's what sent him packing. Bidwell's response was to take his ball and go home...whereever he could find a new home.

It looks like Bidwell will get his wish in Arizona. And as long as Bidwell produces a loser he can claim that he needs new facilities in order to generate playoff worthy talent.

For as many years as Bidwell has had this team, you would figure he might have been able to draft quality talent, considering his many losing seasons. But he doesn't want a winner until he gets a new stadium. And his team has never (by design) generated enough to be able to get him one. But why bother when he can get the state's taxpayers to pay for it?

And until then, he will produce a loser.

[Grando Calrissian]

Good regular season coach who evaporates in the playoffs (4-8) and will drive you absolutely nuts with playcalling and decision-making.

Sounds suspiciously like Steve Mariucci.

[Catspaw]

You must have been one of the cheering Packer fans who loved it when the Cardinals made sure the Vikings didn't get into the playoffs.

Moi?

I didn't just cheer. No, I jumped up & down. I screamed. I yelled. I punched my hubby on the arm. I did a modified Snoopy dance in the living room. I screamed and yelled somemore. I praised the Lord. I praised Brett and the rest of the team, the coaches, the staff, the groundskeepers, the ticket takers, plus Vince and Curly. And, most of all, I thanked Nathan Poole for catching that ball. And I was gleeful, downright overjoyed, that the Vikes were going home.

[Jhensy]

I think it's actually a good move, because I thought they were going to hire Fassel, who most definitely wasn't gonna turn around that franchise. Green's got a little more savvy, although he wouldn't be my first choice.

Giants made the right move in picking a disciplinarian like Coughlin. Exactly what that lazy-ass, underachieving team needs. Reducing fumbles, penalties and bonehead special-team play will work wonders for the G-Men. IT'S A NEW ERA IN NEW YORK, SPORTS FANS.

[discostu]

So you're saying that you were mildly pleased with the results of the game ;-)

[grumple]

Hiring Green eliminates the "race" element.

[cgk]

Bump...

[Cyber Liberty]

This needs to be put in Breaking News all day, like yesterday's story about the 'Skin's new coach....

[Colonel_Flagg]

And we Viking fans wonder why Packer fans are the most obnoxious in sports. ;)

[Colonel_Flagg]

Sounds suspiciously like Steve Mariucci.

Well .. Denny makes Mariucci look like Knute Rockne by comparison.