ESPN and the National Football League have reported that Dennis Green, who coached the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals over 13 National Football League seasons, died Thursday night at the age of 67.
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At the time Green was hired by the Vikings in 1992, he was only the second African-American head coach in the modern NFL (Art Shell being the first) and the third ever (after Shell and Fritz Pollard). The Vikings also advanced to the 2000 NFC championship game with Green at the helm but were defeated by the New York Giants.
Unfortunately, Dennis Green most likely will be remembered for his classic post-game tirade following the 2006 Bears-Cardinals game, which his Arizona team lost after gagging up a 20-point lead.
In a written statement, NFL executive vice president of football operations, Troy Vincent said: “We are saddened to hear the news of Dennis Green’s passing”.
Prior to coaching in the NFL, Green was head coach at Northwestern for five seasons and at Stanford for three. Green’s overall National Football League record was 113-94, with a 4-8 playoff record.
One of Green’s assistants at Stanford was secondary coach Willie Shaw, father of current Cardinal coach David Shaw. The speech, highlighted by Green saying, “They are what we thought they were”, was celebrated in a television commercial for Coors and countless parodies.
The news of Green’s passing swept through the sports community.
“The Bears are what we thought they were”.
He hadn’t coached since leaving the Arizona Cardinals at the end of the 2006 season but you’ve likely seen or heard about Dennis Green. The team bought out his contract near the end of his tenure, and Green did not coach the final game in that last season. “Denny was a terrific head coach and inspired his players on and off the field”.
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“That clip – still played regularly during the football season – was a snapshot of Green’s gritty, live-wire personality”, the NFL wrote in an article commemorating his life and announcing his death. “Coach Green is going to be missed dearly by everyone that was lucky enough to know him”. At the time he was only the second African American head coach in Division 1-A history.
