EDEN PRAIRIE, Minnesota (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings fired Brad Childress on Monday, cutting ties with a head coach who had come under increasing fire from quarterback Brett Favre and other players after a terrible start to the season.
Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
The Vikings fell to 3-7 after a 31-3 loss to rival Green Bay on Sunday, the final blow to Childress in his fifth season in charge of the team. It was his most-lopsided home defeat as head coach, dropping his overall record to 40-37.
Childress took over for the fired Mike Tice in 2006 after spending seven years with the Eagles, including four as the offensive coordinator. He was chosen by owner Zygi Wilf to instill discipline and demand better off-the-field behavior from a team that had been embarrassed by misbehaving players.
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However, Childress stumbled in his first year and never fully gained the faith of the fans — or some of his players.
It wasn’t until last year, when Childress persuaded the 40-year-old Favre to put off retirement a second time, that the Vikings finally scored lots of points and became a dominant team.
The Vikings lost in the NFC title game in overtime last January to the eventual champion New Orleans Saints. Last November, Wilf — pleased by the stability and the progress — gave Childress a contract extension.
But Favre didn’t show up for training camp this year until mid-August, and injuries affected key players.
The relationship between Favre and Childress, which was tense at times in 2009, seemed to sour further when Favre threw three interceptions in the Oct. 24 game at Green Bay and the Vikings lost to Favre’s old team.
Childress was sharply critical of Favre’s decision-making afterward.
The situation deteriorated further following a loss at New England. Wide receiver Randy Moss, acquired in a trade just four weeks earlier, went out of his way to praise the Patriots and criticize Childress in a post-game rant.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
