Green’s coaching career spanned almost four decades and saw him spend head coaching stints in the NFL with the Vikings and Cardinals, in the collegiate ranks with Northwestern and Stanford and, most recently, with the United Football League’s Sacramento Mountain Lions.
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Green coached in the National Football League for 13 seasons, the first 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (1992-2001).
He was named the Vikings coach on January 10, 1992.
Dennis Green, a former 49ers assistant and the first African-American coach in the Pac-10 Conference when he was hired by Stanford in 1989, has died.
“Denny made his mark in ways far beyond being an outstanding football coach”, the Vikings said. His Vikings finished the 1998 regular season with a record of 15-1. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Green family”.
But the Vikings were upset at home by the Atlanta Falcons that season and also were embarrassed by the New York Giants 41-0 in their other trip to the NFC title game after the 2000 season.
Green was sacked after the season, one day after the Cardinals concluded a 5-11 run with a 27-20 loss at San Diego.
“Rest in peace Denny”. Green’s Vikings went 97-62 and went to the playoffs eight times. He helped pave the way for minority coaches and recently served as a key advisor on the NFL’s Career Development Advisory Panel. He compiled a 16-18 record and took the Cardinal to the 1991 Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, where it lost to Georgia Tech 18-17 to complete an 8-4 season.
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Cardinals President Michael Bidwill said Green “will rightly be remembered as a true innovator, leader and pioneer among football coaches”.
