Green was an avid drummer, and Moss said Friday that “we had a team and one thing he taught us was to play to one beat”. It’s a combination – from my high school coach, to him, to coach Bill Walsh.
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Green was a trailblazer as a coach.
Green also coached the Arizona Cardinals from 2004-06, going 16-32 with no playoff berths over three seasons.
In a statement, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent expressed his sympathy to Green’s family following his passing, while highlighting his key achievements. “He really did a lot for my career”. He was more than a coach.
He’ll be remembered more for what he didn’t accomplish as a head coach, but that doesn’t change the impact that former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green had on the game of football. During his ten seasons with the Vikings, they made playoffs eight times, including two trips to the NFC Championship game. Green’s teams went 3-0 against the Fins, topping them at home with the Vikings in 1994 and 2000 and beating them with the Cardinals at what was then Pro Player Stadium back in 2004. Other details were not disclosed, though the Cardinals said the cause was a heart attack. Green’s phrase “They are who we thought they were” became part of American culture, and at one point there were reports he attempted to copywrite the phrase.
But it wasn’t enough against Green and the Vikings, who went on to go 10-6, winning the NFC Central with Moon at quarterback.
Green succeeded Jack Elway at Stanford and spent three seasons on The Farm.
After being a head coach for 13 seasons in the NFL, Green coached in Sacramento.
Mr. Green was sacked after the season, one day after the Cardinals concluded a 5-11 run with a 27-20 loss at San Diego. ( The first being Willie Jeffries who coached at Wichita State).
However, Green did help lay the groundwork for the Cardinal’s Super Bowl team in 2008.
But, according to Chaump, Green was more than a great player.
“Coach Green will right be remembered as a true innovator, leader and pioneer among football coaches. My condolences are with all his loved ones”, Booker tweeted. “On behalf of the National Football League, our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Green family”. “It wasn’t only important for Denny Green to be successful but for the rest of the guys on his staff to be successful”. “I lost my mother in April, I feel like I just lost a father”.
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Green’s tenure at Stanford had its share of excitement. He filed his lawsuit with two games remaining in the 2011 season, though he coached the remainder of the season out of loyalty to the players. “He was there early and won a lot of football games”.
