His death was announced by his family on the website of the Cardinals with a statement that said his family was at his bedside and he had fought hard.
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Green reportedly died from cardiac arrest.
Under Green, the Minnesota Vikings made eight playoff appearances in 10 seasons. The team lost the NFC Championship game at the Metrodome when Gary Anderson missed a late field goal – his first of the season – and the Vikings lost to Atlanta in overtime.
Green posted a combined 16-32 record in his 3 years in Arizona, but the team noted that the player acquisitions he made provided the “backbone” of a Cardinals team that reached the Super Bowl in the 2008 season, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Overall, Green spent 13 seasons coaching at the National Football League level.
Green began his career in coaching with the University of Dayton Flyers in 1971.
Dennis Green was a father figure, mentor and coach to football players for the majority of his life.
“Denny founded the Vikings Community Tuesday Program, a critical initiative that is now implemented across the entire NFL”. Green pounded the podium and yelled “The Bears are who we thought they were!”
Minnesota was 97-62 (.610 winning percentage) with Green at the helm. Green became just the second black head coach in Division I-A football history, following Wichita State’s Willie Jeffries, who took the position in 1979. That team – featuring Cris Carter, Randy Moss, Robert Smith and Randall Cunningham – set the National Football League scoring record at 556 points, which has since been broken. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Green family”. “He gave me the opportunity to host and produce his radio show eight years ago”.
Prior to moving to the NFL, Green coached at Stanford (1989-91) and Northwestern (1981-85).
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The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania native never backed down from a challenge in his life, routinely taking on some of the toughest coaching jobs in the country. “We express our deepest sympathy to his family and his many friends”, Cardinals president Michael Bidwell said in a statement.
