Vikings coach Mike Tice got fired shortly after the win over the Bears this afternoon. Mike got the short straw and had way to many problems on the team this year. Now we can wait and see who the new coach will be?
Bring back Bud!!!!!!!
I called for Tice to be fired two years ago, and I believe it is the best move, so long as the Wilfs bring in some competent football people to run things. For the record, I think Tice did his best, but was just over-matched in the job of being an NFL head coach.
Is Culpepper next?
This off season could prove to be the most interesting for the Viking franchise since the Herschal Walker trade. If Wilf is as serious about being the owner of a winning footbal team as he claims to be, we could be looking at the beginning of something fun.
By the way, itsn’t interesting that Oakland could only put together 4 wins with Randy Moss.
I feel sorry for Tice. He deserved at least one more year.
The poor guy was never given a chance to coach a single year with a complete NFL caliber staff around him.
Zygi told Bob Sansavre in an interveiw not too long ago that he wasn’t going to make any staffing changes, and he’s done just the opposite.
There are a lot of fans out there, myself included, that are not going to have much trust in anything Zygi says from now on.
I have worked with Mike Tice for the past 5 years at his football camp up at the University of St. Thomas. Mike is a good guy, but was hamstrung by Red McCombs cheapness in fielding a quality team with a full complement of quality coaches. Digging through the barrel for coaches to fill a staff is not the way to build a champion.
Mike has made some mistakes, but all in all, he was good for the program, good for football in the state of Minnesota (from youth to pro) and will be missed. He has done more to help youth football in the state than anyone I can think of in any state.
You can say what you want about Mike, but a HC is only as good as his assistants. People like Moss, Hovan, and Russell ruined it for him, to many problems.
I feel bad for Tice….they didn’t even give him the decency of waiting until tomorrow before firing him. Let the man enjoy his last win of the season.
If this is the way Ziggy plans on owning the team, I’d anticipate lots of battles in the future.
Nice Run though Tice!!! You deserved better as a person.
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Zygi told Bob Sansavre in an interview not too long ago that he wasn’t going to make any staffing changes, and he’s done just the opposite.
What he said was he wasn’t going to make any management changes. There are over 32 people in the Vikings front office, he then clearly stated he will make a decision on Tice after the season was over.
You cant go from making the playoffs for 10 straight years and then missing three, making one and missing again. Season ticket holders wont put up with it and Zygi is protecting his investment, I dont blame him.. Tice knew his @ss was cooked.
You cant decide whos going to call plays 5 games into the season.
I just heard Jimmy Johnson has resigned from FOX..
On another note, I would like to thank the Vikings for scoring 306 points and giving up 344 this season. I have 6-4 on a football board that will pay me $1000 
When is it shermans turn to get the boot? i predict wednesday or thursday! 
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Tice knew his @ss was cooked.
And so did the rest of world.
I feel so bad for Mike Tice he made over $4,000,000 coaching football……and IMO very poorly over the last 4 years….reasonable minds can agree he was not ready to be a head coach. 
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Tice knew his @ss was cooked.
And so did the rest of world.
I feel so bad for Mike Tice he made over $4,000,000 coaching football……and IMO very poorly over the last 4 years….reasonable minds can agree he was not ready to be a head coach.
Tice never came close to making that type of money as a coach. Even making $1 million this year, he was still the lowest paid coach in the league.
exactly!!!!!
There are alot of people out there that have no idea what they are talking about when they talk about this issue.
Tice has been hand cuffed as a coach since the day he was hired. He was never given a complete staff to work with. The staff he was given while Red had the team were bargin basement types. He basically had the same staff this year since the sell didn’t allow time for Zygi to restructure before the season so they went with what they had. The team never was close to the salary cap, so he was constantly trying to have winning seasons without having all the tools the organization could have given him. Heck, the team was still $12 million under the cap this season, and right now as is, will be almost $20 million under the cap next year if the team remains the same.
He did a good job for what he was allowed to work with. The problem is that the uneducated public just assigns the blame on the coach as the reason their team looses without knowing what really is going on. A coach is not a baby sitter, he can’t be expected to watch over all these adults when they are away from Winter Park.
Imagine trying to fish the FLW Championship and all you were allowed to fish with was an old birch bark canoe and a paddle while everyone else was running Rangers. That would be close to what Tice was asked to do. 
Jack, I think he was referring to his head coaching career that he made $4 mil.
I will agree Tice is a great guy. I met him at the Goose in 99. But superbowl coach he is not and I think Zygi is foamin at the mouth for the Lombardy..
I personally do not believe that the boat incident was the deciding factor in his firing.
He was the head coach of the team for the last 4 years. He had one of the best offensive coordinators in the league who chose to leave the team. Then he brings in two former coaches in the middle of the season? Can you see Holmgren or Belichic doing that? Or almost blowing your draft pick cause your not watching the clock? Or telling the world your going to pass to Randy Moss 40 percent per game?
Like Brad Johnson said, nothing has changed since he left. Tice picked up where Denny left off. This team needs a drastic change. He never did have control of this team. I believe the players love him like a brother or best friend, but deep down dont have respect for him cause they know he cant get the job done. And if staffing was an issue, dont you think he could have come to Zygi and said, hey I need better staff to get the job done, thats why we arent a playoff team.. You really think Zygi would buy that??
Derek, Tice never came close to that for his career as a HC. He was paid $1 million this season, but up till this season, he was much less/season than that.
The coaching staff under Red McCombs was the lowest paid staff in the league. Heck, there were HC’s making more/season than the entire Vikings staff was being paid!
Also, as a side note……Tice retired as a player from the Vikings in 1995. In 96 he was a TE coach. In 97 he was made the O Line coach. In 01 he added the title asst. HC.to O line coach, and at the end of the 01-02 season was named HC. As a HC, his record is 1 game below .500 after 3 seasons. Thats not really that bad for what Tice has been put thru and what he has been given to work with.
Man I really feel sorry for him! 
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He was paid $1 million this season
I am not blaming him for anything the players win/lose games. I don’t think he was qualified to be a head coach.
I don’t feel sorry for him, he’ll be okay.
Its been a tough year for the NFC north.
So with the savings from Tice’s salary..(whatever it is) will they builded their OWN stadium?
GO VIKINGS!
…and take the golfers with you! 
I agree that a head coach in the NFL cannot and should not be expected to be a baby-sitter for grown men, and that the Love Boat “scandal” (which the media blew out of proportion, IMO), cannot be pinned entirely on Tice. Tice did not help his own cause with mistakes like the Super Bowl ticket-scalping case. I do think a coaching change needed to be made based on on-field performance, where Tice’s decisions didn’t quite measure up. I agree that McCombs put Tice at a disadvantage, but too many bad on-field decisions were made by Tice over his four years.
The official media spin is that the Wilfs liked Tice personally, but felt that a change needed to be made, in order to keep the fan base, especially season ticket holders, happy. Right or wrong, this interpretation says that the public blamed Tice for the off-field problems, and so the Wilfs had to dump him. You could definitely argue that the media tail is wagging the public perception dog in this case…
During the game yesterday the announcers mentioned that the Vikings were going to hire a GM in the off-season, which means they didn’t have one. Who was in charge of evaluating talent and handling the draft if they had no GM?
Also, I do think that the off-field actions of the team reflect on the head-coach right or wrong. One of the things that impresses me most about this years Bears team is that, from what we as fans can see anyways, there’s no knuckleheads or me-first guys on the team. Lovie Smith seems to value character as much as talent.
Lastly, you Vikings fans wouldn’t really want Jimmy Johnson to be your HC, would you?
I usually dont get into the sports talks but I am appauled that they are even considering keeping Culpecker for the next season. DID THEY FORGET HOW CRAPPY HE WAS PLAYING BEFORE HE GOT HURT. I wish he wouldnt of gotten hurt cause then he and Tice would both be gone. No offense to Tice but he just doesnt have it. Also they are considering hiring some other coaches that were let go. WHAT THE HELL FOR?? Put your money where your mouth is Ziggy and hire the USC coach. If it cost more than a fired coach, hes probably worth it. They say he wont take the job. Make him a offer he cant refuse (within reason now). ZIGGY- CRAPPY WAY TO HANDLE FIRING A COACH- NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR YOUR CALIBER TEAMATES WHO LIKED TICE AND COULD LEAVE YOU HANGING. 
FISHINFOOL
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ZIGGY- HORSES#!T WAY TO HANDLE FIRING A COACH- NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR YOUR CALIBER TEAMATES WHO LIKED TICE AND COULD LEAVE YOU HANGING.
FF, It was actually Tice’s call on when to announce the firing. He was given the option of delaying the announcement until today, but told them to get the release out and get it over with. Before you start going off on something, know all the facts. We should keep the language clean also.
You do remember how well Pete Carrol did when he was with the Jets and New England? He may be just another example of a good college coach who can’t cut it in the pros.
Thanks,
I have to say as a Packer I feel sorry for Tice. I think Wilf blew this one. I don’t really have an opinion of Tice one way or the other; he seems like a really good guy from everything you read about him but there are things that ultimately a coach he has to answer for. Wilf showed Tice no respect at all in firing him less than one hour after their game. He should have met with Tice as he said he would and been a lot more professional in how handle this whole thing.
according to the video on tv this morning by Tice himself, he had to call his wife on a cell phone and tell her while she was in the parking lot that he was gone, while he was still in the locker room. I dont think I misunderstood what he said in the news conferance. She was being questioned and he had to call her via phone instead of in person so she wasnt quite so floored with it. I CHANGED THE LANGUAGE (SORRY)
Linehan left because Red wouldn’t pay him a portion of what he was worth.
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ZIGGY- HORSES#!T WAY TO HANDLE FIRING A COACH- NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR YOUR CALIBER TEAMATES WHO LIKED TICE AND COULD LEAVE YOU HANGING.
FF, It was actually Tice’s call on when to announce the firing. He was given the option of delaying the announcement until today, but told them to get the release out and get it over with. Before you start going off on something, know all the facts. We should keep the language clean also.
You do remember how well Pete Carrol did when he was with the Jets and New England? He may be just another example of a good college coach who can’t cut it in the pros.Thanks,
Thats not exactly the way it went down. Wilf did it in a very classless manner. Regardless if Tice was liked or not, you don’t do things like that in the manner the Wilf “Hit Team” did it.
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MINNEAPOLIS – ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
Last update: January 02, 2006 – 12:09 AM
Jim Souhan: How not to dismiss a loyal employee
At 7 p.m. Sunday, well after the end of a 34-10 victory over the Chicago Bears, Vikings vice president Lester Bagley strode into an almost-empty locker room and handed out sheets of paper.
Jim Souhan, Star Tribune
At 7 p.m. Sunday, well after the end of a 34-10 victory over the Chicago Bears, Vikings vice president Lester Bagley strode into an almost-empty locker room and handed out sheets of paper.
A reporter handed one to receiver Koren Robinson, who was chatting in front of a minicam. As Robinson read the news release, his hands started shaking and he bowed his head.
That’s how Robinson learned Vikings owner Zygi Wilf had fired coach Mike Tice — the man who rescued Robinson from an alcohol rehab clinic. “They can’t be man enough to wait until Monday?” Robinson said, his voice trembling. “I wanted him to be here. I wanted to play for him. He believed in me, and now he’s gone?”
You can accept the necessity of surgery without wanting to see the blood.
You can accept the inevitability of this decision without wanting to see a man slapped in the face.
Wilf might not be the guy you want to invite to your next party. He waited until after Tice had addressed the team, the media and his coaches before firing him.
Wilf waited until everyone had said nice things about a victory that, for Tice and his players, was as meaningless yet satisfying as a crossword puzzle. Wilf waited until most of the team had departed with hopes of savoring one last night before the guillotine.
Then Wilf called Tice into a room and dropped the hammer.
Maybe this is the way movers and shakers do business in Jersey.
Tice told two of his coaches the news, and then a few players, such as Robinson, heard it from reporters.
“I didn’t get a chance to savor the victory very long,” Tice said with a grin. “I’ve been the one saying, ‘Sooner than later.’ I guess he took that to mean, ‘As soon as possible, ASAP.’ …
“I would’ve liked to have called [wife] Diane. She’s in the parking lot … So I had to tell my wife on the cell phone. I would have rather told her face to face.
“But that’s OK. I was prepared for it all week.”
You would have thought, from their demeanors, that Tice had fired Wilf. “I don’t know which one of us was more shaken, him or me,” Tice said.
After hearing the news, Tice dressed in his suit and walked to the middle of the locker room to answer questions, and he was the same ol’ Open Mike — laughing, joking, jousting.
He even promised to make his regular Sunday night appearance on KSTP-TV. “I want to fulfill my contract,” he said.
Wilf, in contrast, was again the absentee owner — nowhere to be found. He gave Tice the news while Tice’s son and brother were still in the locker room, when everybody involved — including Tice — had prepared for the promised Monday meeting.
In the scope of team history, this will soon become insignificant. Tice’s tenure was over. He knew it. We knew it. And if you parse the past four seasons, you can find a dozen reasons to justify, if not openly support, Wilf’s decision.
This is a matter of class. Wilf keeps saying he wants to run a first-class organization. What that has meant so far is the production of a 77-page code of conduct that apparently does not apply to scandalous boat parties, and conducting public relations with the deft touch of a professional wrestler.
If Wilf had fired Tice at their scheduled meeting this morning, Tice would have been able to break the news to players and coaches himself. He would have handled it with class, would have said all the right things, and an observer would have been able to describe the proceedings as dignified.
Sunday night, Tice was the only member of Vikings management who earned that testimonial.
“It’s a shame that I’m not going to be able to work for the Wilfs,” Tice said. “I think they’re going to be great owners … I think they’re going to be top-notch…
“I’m very proud of a lot of the things we accomplished … I’m hurt. I’m a man, I’m not a machine. I’ve put a lot of time into this organization, and we’ve had a lot of good times, and some bad times.
“I’m very thankful to you guys for treating me with so much dignity.”
By “you guys,” he meant members of the Fourth Estate, not the men who signed his paychecks.
Of all the strange twists in Tice’s eventful career, isn’t that the strangest?
Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on KSTP AM 1500. • [email protected].
AND SO ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES. kinda reflects that dont it. now you know why i dont get involved too much except for the fishin reports and the good natured stuff. FF
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