The leader of the record-setting 1998 Minnesota Vikings has died.
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“It was a great privilege to play for Dennis Green”, Fuller said. It’s a combination – from my high school coach, to him, to coach Bill Walsh.
Green’s last coaching stint was for with the California Redwoods starting in 2009, later the Sacramento Mountain Lions. Green followed Walsh to the National Football League and served on his staff with the San Francisco 49ers.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green talks to the media in Tempe, Ariz. “We express our deepest sympathy to his family and many friends”. “So I’m real saddened by it”, Jerry Rice told reporters at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe. He allowed me to have a great relationship with one of his mentors. Denny really cared about the players.
The offense with Green was “a little more simplified, it makes a little more sense (than in 1979)”, Elway said in a June 4, 1980 interview with the Stanford Daily. His tenure as one of the first African American head coaches in both college and the National Football League was also transformative. Hopefully he will be remembered for more than a video clip.
As we remember Green, let’s put away the catchphrases from a raw sound bite and remember him for what he was: A passionate, successful football man who owns a chapter in the history of the game.
Green’s passion and focus made him a favorite of his players and assistant coaches. 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.
Green’s coaching career began at the college level in 1971 with Dayton as running backs and wide receivers coach.
Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Arthur Jones has been suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. ( The first being Willie Jeffries who coached at Wichita State). Under Green, the Cardinals showed signs of improvement on the field but an optimistic 2006 season turned sour down the stretch.
Green graduated with a degree in finance where he also played football for three seasons for Iowa.
Just got the news of the passing of Denny Green. “My condolences are with all his loved ones”, Booker tweeted.
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.
Rest in peace, Dennis Green. “I lost my mother in April, I feel like I just lost a father”.
Green’s tenure at Stanford had its share of excitement.
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In mid-October, the Cardinals were blown out by 20 points by the Bears on Monday Night Football. He also broke Northwestern’s NCAA-record 34-game losing streak.
