Former Vikings, Cardinals Coach Dennis Green Dies

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green died from complications aftering suffering cardiac arrest Thursday night. He was 67.

In a statement, his family said they were by his side when he died and that "he fought hard."

Green became the NFL's second black head coach when he was hired by the Vikings in 1992. He spent 10 seasons in Minnesota, where he compiled a 113-94 record and led the team to eight playoff appearances.

In 1998, the Vikings came within a whisker of reaching the Super Bowl. Gary Anderson missed a 38-year-old field goal -- his only miss of the season -- late in the fourth quarter of the NFC championship game against the Atlanta Falcons. The game then went to overtime, and the Vikings, who were 15-1 and broke NFL offensive records in the regular season, lost.

Green went out on a limb in the draft before that season, plucking Randy Moss at pick No. 21 after the super-talented receiver fell due to character concerns. Moss was a sensation from the start, teaming with Cris Carter, Jake Reed, quarterback Randall Cunningham and running back Robert Smith to give the Vikings the most dynamic and explosive offense the league had ever seen.

The Vikings also reached the NFC title game in 2000, but were embarrassed by the New York Giants 41-0.

Green went 4-8 in the postseason, one of the reasons he was fired by Minnesota late in the 2001 season. He still ranks second all-time among Vikings coaches in wins.

He resurfaced with the Cardinals in 2004, going 16-32 in three seasons in the desert.

Green made several moves that seemed to backfire, beginning with the abrupt release of offensive lineman Pete Kendall on the eve of his first training camp. In his first season, Green benched quarterback Josh McCown for Shaun King even though the team had won three of its last four. By the time McCown got the job back, the Cardinals had lost three straight.

His most memorable moment as Arizona's coach came in October 2006. After the Cardinals blew a 20-point lead to the Chicago Bears on "Monday Night Football," Green went on a tirade in the post-game news conference in which he said: "The Bears are who we thought they were! That's why we took the damn field! Now if you want to crown them, then crown their ass! But they are who we thought they were! And we let 'em off the hook!"

The Vikings released a statement Friday that read in part: "We are incredibly saddened by the sudden passing of former Vikings Head Coach Dennis Green. Denny made his mark in ways far beyond being an outstanding football coach. He mentored countless players and served as a father figure for the men he coached."

Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said in a statement: "All of us at the Cardinals are incredibly saddened by the news of Dennis Green's passing. Coach Green will rightly be remembered as a true innovator, leader and pioneer among football coaches. We express our deepest sympathy to his family and his many friends."

Some of Green's former players also were reacting to news of his death on Twitter.

Green's resume also included serving as head coach at Northwestern and Stanford, an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers and head coach of the United Football League's California Redwoods/Sacramento Mountain Lions. He also worked as an analyst for ESPN.

Born Feb. 17, 1949, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Green once said he was struck by watching early Big Ten football games and seeing both Minnesota and Iowa putting together successful seasons behind black quarterbacks. Green enrolled at Iowa, too, and played running back for the Hawkeyes from 1968-70. He played for the BC Lions in Canada in 1971 before returning to coach in college, beginning at Dayton in 1973 and gradually climbing to bigger programs.

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