If former Vikings coach Brad Childress is hoping to embark on a career in the media, we recommend coming up with a slightly more delicate way of expressing himself.
Of course, if tact were contained in Chilly’s bag of tricks, he possibly would still be the coach of the Vikings.
During a visit to the nerve center of NFL Network, Childress spoke about the ill-fated addition via trade for receiver Randy Moss. Childress, via NFL.com, said that Moss “walked in the locker room and vomited on it.”
In many respects, Childress’ assessment is accurate. But there’s a way to convey that thought without creating the kind of mental image that no amount of bleach poured into the ear canals can erase.
All in all, Childress was the latest example of the Peter Principle, as applied to pro football. Some coordinators can excel at the fundamentally different job requirements of the next level on the coaching ladder, and some can’t. Thanks to the decision to ignore injury concerns and pick Adrian Peterson with the seventh selection in 2007 and the availability of Brett Favre in 2009, Childress lasted longer than he probably should have. The inability pre-Favre to craft a legitimate passing attack despite having a home-run threat at tailback falls squarely on Chilly’s shoulders, especially since it was his call to trade up in 2006 to get quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who despite the current effort of the Seahawks to prop him up ultimately couldn’t take advantage of the fact that defenses were wholly committed to stopping the run.
In the end, Childress was another Parcells-style tough talker, but with no pelts on the wall to prompt the powers-that-be to perpetually look the other way. From the snide comments directed to Daunte Culpepper regarding the rehab of a serious knee injury to the handling of Troy Williamson after his grandmother died to the gratuitous sarcasm directed at Jeff George when he simply wanted a chance to show that he can still play to the failure to let ownership know Moss had been cut, Chilly ended up being his own worst enemy.
Indeed, some Vikings players possibly would say that Chilly did what he now accuses Moss of doing, but over a longer period of time.