In the 10 questions we cobbled together on Wednesday that, in our view, need to be answered regarding Brett Favre’s second tour of duty with the Vikings, question No. 9 focused on whether Favre and coach Brad Childress can get along.
Though the question wasn’t posed to Favre or Childress (both of whom addressed the media consecutively on Wednesday afternoon), Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports has supplied a possible answer.
No.
“Brett thinks Childress has no clue about offense,” an unnamed Vikings player told Cole.
Said another: “Brett just doesn’t trust him.”
So why did Favre return? Is he a glutton for punishment? Or does he simply realize that he can ignore Childress and do whatever he wants?
As we said yesterday, “We’ve heard persistent rumors that the players in Minnesota generally don’t like or respect Childress. Though no good head coach openly aspires to be liked by his players, a lack of respect could kill a team’s chances -- especially if it starts with the quarterback whose ring, feet, and ass everyone kisses.”
For the Vikings to be successful this year, Favre needs to declare publicly and privately that Chilly is in charge, and Favre needs to behave accordingly. Otherwise, it’ll be too hard for the team to function in the way that a team needs to function in order to win a Super Bowl.
Of course, even with Favre’s imprimatur, Childress very well could manage to blow a hole in his own foot. The goofy decision to instruct special-team coordinator Brian Murphy and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to lie about the whereabouts of Ryan Longwell, Steve Hutchinson, and Jared Allen, who traveled to Mississippi to “fetch” Favre, apparently has caused Childress to lose even more locker-room style points.
“Chilly can’t even tell the truth about that,” an unnamed player told Cole. “I mean, how ridiculous is that? What’s the big deal that he has to lie? Worse, he has to tell other guys to lie for him?”
Bottom line? If the Vikings play well, this angle won’t get much attention. If they play poorly, the Favre-Childress dynamic will be examined more closely than Favre’s bone-spur-growing ankle. From Favre’s perspective, it could end up supplying an even better excuse for poor on-field play than polio, swine flu, and/or lupus.