Dennis Green, Former Vikings Head Coach Passes Away at 67

Former Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Dennis Green has passed away last night at the age of 67. He will be remembered for the great Vikings teams of the late 90’s.

Dennis Green was one of the best head coaches in Minnesota Vikings history. Late Thursday night, Green passed away from complications of cardiac arrest. Vikings fans will always remember the great seasons Green was the leader of in the late 90’s. Green coached 13 seasons in the NFL.

Green was one of the disciples of the Bill Walsh coaching tree. Green learned the “West Coast Offense” from Walsh and brought this to Minnesota. Green became the Vikings fifth head coach in 1992.

Green blazed his own path. He was the second African American head coach in the modern NFL. He was a pioneer in this game and people all over Minnesota and the NFL are in shock that he has passed.

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Through Green’s first six seasons, he never posted a losing season and failed to make the playoffs only once.

In the 1998 season, Green helped the Vikings post an NFL best 15-1 season. That season the Vikings had one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history. That year they set the record for most points scored in an NFL regular season. The Vikings rolled through the playoffs until a missed field goal by Gary Anderson and an eventual loss on a field goal by the Atlanta Falcons in overtime.

In 2000, the Vikings posted an 11-5 record and advanced to another NFC Championship game in which they lost to the New York Giants.

In 2001, Green posted his first losing season in a decade and the team decided to let him go. Green then spent some time as an analyst at ESPN. In 2004, Green then moved on to coach the Arizona Cardinals.

Green finished his career with the Minnesota Vikings with a career record of 97-62. Green had multiple assistants who he helped along the way and eventually became head coaches, such as Brian Billick, Tony Dungy, and Mike Tice.

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Green has the second best win percentage in Minnesota Vikings coaching history(.610), only to Bud Grant(.635). He will be remembered as one of the best coaches in Vikings history. He will be missed.