Thread: Ownership group makes moves, even if some don't make sense

Now dat Tice ain't around no more, dese 'expoits' are rippin' inta da ownas...
(Sorry if someone else posted dis. I didn't see it out heah.)
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Jim Souhan, Star Tribune

Zygi Wilf and his partners don't seem to know what they're doing, so they'd better hope for some good advice and good luck in the scramble to hire two key people.

We're two days into the Vikings' coaching search, and Team Wilf is already looking like Team Whiff.

We have a greenhorn ownership group supervising a muddled front office lacking a general manager while trying to hurriedly hire a coach.

This spring, the Carlson School of Management will discuss that scenario in a class entitled "What Not To Do 101." Owner Zygi Wilf should watch a tape of his Monday news conference and realize he's not quite ready to be the face and voice of Minnesota's most scrutinized franchise.

I don't want to say he was stiff, but he makes Carl Pohlad look like Regis Philbin.

The most obvious course of action for Mr. Wilf is the most logical: Hire a proven or at least promising general manager and hand over the reins.

Instead, we have your assorted Wilfs, Mandelbaums, Landises and Warrens advising each other, the blinkered leading the blinkered.

In the past 72 hours:

• Team Wilf panicked and rushed the Tice firing, then offered the spin that Tice asked to be given the news immediately.

Not true. How Tice was fired no longer matters, but lying about it is a bad sign.

• Team Wilf rushed to sign Eagles executive Tom Heckert, only to watch him re-up with Philadelphia.

• The Vikings put Gregg Williams on their short list, and Williams, like Heckert, used such interest as leverage to get a raise.

• They rushed Brad Childress to town for an interview. He might become a top head coach, but neither his résumé nor his current duties as an offensive coordinator who doesn't call plays makes him a guy you hire before you have a GM.

The best guess is that Team Wilf planned to hire Heckert, with the notion that he would hire Childress.

That would have at least looked well-planned. Now, you half expect Team Wilf to ask Tice -- or Sean Salisbury, or Les Steckel -- for advice.

The Wilfs have made two moves in the last week -- firing Tice and signing capologist Rob Brzezinski to a three-year deal.

Both moves were logical. The danger in those moves is the appearance that Wilf will cater to Brzezinski by hiring a personnel guy who will not necessarily be Brzezinski's boss.

That's a mistake. I'd rather have a football guy ordering Brzezinski around than vice versa.

The firing of Tice represented an implicit promise to the team and fan base that the new ownership would hire someone better, that the new ownership had some idea how to navigate this process.

Williams' sudden unavailability, combined with the intense competition around the league for quality candidates, makes that a promise that will not necessarily be kept.

Now you get the sense that if the Wilfs hadn't just fired him, they'd have Tice on their list.

Of course, the reality of coaching searches is that logic doesn't necessarily matter. Bill Parcells is one of the greatest coaches of all-time, yet he's been surpassed this decade by his old assistant, Bill Belichick -- who himself failed miserably in Cleveland before reinventing the game in New England.

Tony Dungy once had a career setback, going from Steelers defensive coordinator to Chiefs defensive backs coach. Now the Chiefs would love to have him as their head coach.

I've been around greenhorn owners before, and rashness isn't always justly punished.

Jerry Jones did just about everything wrong in his first year with the Cowboys, but he hired the right coach and won three Super Bowls.

Jones, though, found himself in a unique situation. He hired his old college teammate, Jimmy Johnson, and his old college teammate just happened to be the most unique of NFL entities -- a college coach savvy enough to become the point man for an NFL franchise.

Johnson also had the benefit of working with a veteran front office. And even Johnson had to sacrifice a season -- going 1-15 in 1989 -- before beginning his ascent.

So the Wilfs could turn this into a dog's breakfast and get lucky, or display the wisdom of (Steve) Jobs and get burned.

As Red Smith might have put it, the wisest owners aren't necessarily the most successful, but that's the way to bet.

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Dese guys make me sick. Dey were all over Tice dis year like ugly onna ape, an' now dat he's gone, dey are sayin', 'Hey, Tice wasn't so bad'. Now, dey gotta slam somebody else, an' dey are takin' da Tice firin' an' sayin', 'Hey, dese guys don't know what dey're doin'.'

I was on Wilf's a$$ for da firin', but, I'm over it now. But, dese guys take it a step furtha. Dere sayin' dat Wilf blew it on Williams an' Heckert. But, hey, stuff happens, y'know? So, we didn't get 'em. Dat doesn't mean we didn't try, or weren't interested.

Dese 'expoits' are just jackals, feedin' on da public. I feel like mussin' 'em up good, y'know?

Expoits, my footballs! Hah!

dude.. can you type using english? Everytime I see your name I just skip over what you say cuz it takes me an hour to read a single sentence. Lol...

Good points OMV, they are a bunch of negative bastards. The media in New Orleans is the opposite and equally annoying, they glorify the Saints when they should be looked at critically.

I sure hope that the following statement is going to be true, because if we hire a moron to replace a meathead we'll be no better off.

The firing of Tice represented an implicit promise to the team and fan base that the new ownership would hire someone better, that the new ownership had some idea how to navigate this process.

I still have faith that they will pull together a good coaching staff and sure hope they get a GM in the process. I am also concerned about the inbreeding within the Wilf ownership. Forget about the relatives, hire the best available people to run the franchise.

I'm optimistic that things will work out for the best. My guess is that Wilf is working the phones 18 hrs a day and putting all his effort into this endeavor. The Vikings have a winning franchise and there are sure to be viable candidates that want to coach in Minnesota.

"Euphman06" wrote:

dude.. can you type using english? Everytime I see your name I just skip over what you say cuz it takes me an hour to read a single sentence. Lol...

:grin: I feel like im stuck in an Al capone movie and can't get out lol. I kinda like the mobster talk but it does take a long time to read..

"Euphman06" wrote:

dude.. can you type using english? Everytime I see your name I just skip over what you say cuz it takes me an hour to read a single sentence. Lol...

ditto :smile: It was cute the first couple of times but I don't try to read your posts anymore. It takes too much work to figure out what you are trying to say.

What a stupid article. Like its Wilfs fault that the Eagles offered Heckert an $8 mil 3 yr contract? :roll:

i like the talk- i always think, man, it must be hard to type like that [hardwork] . keep up the accent old man vike! it adds flavor to PPO! and you do say it like it is, so keep saying it!

Yah I am not really sure I agree with the article either.

I dsigaree, ti's esay ot raed hsi psots adn tehy aer entretiannig. Mnay wyas to cmomunictae, OMV's mtehdo si jsut oen fo tehm.

euph---smoot is your favorite? lol!