Cards Counting on Green
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 7, 2004 12:00 AM
Like the five men who preceded him as the Cardinals' head coach, Dennis Green is convinced he can turn the franchise into a consistent winner.
Green, hired Wednesday as the team's new coach, will be introduced at a news conference Friday morning at the team's Tempe facility.
Among the first questions will be an old Cardinals standby: What makes you think you can win here?
Green said he's heard that before in turning around programs at Northwestern, Stanford and the Minnesota Vikings.
"When you are a turnaround guy, you are accustomed to people giving you that look," Green said Wednesday evening from his home near San Diego. "I think the big thing is getting over the hump. I look at the NFL this season, and there was not much difference between teams that were 4-12 and teams that were 10-6."
In the Cardinals' case, that hump is enormous. They've had one winning season since moving to Arizona in 1988, and they've won one playoff game since 1947. They've fired five coaches over the past 16 years.
Green, the team's sixth coach since it moved west, will receive a four-year deal with a team option for a fifth year. He'll make an average of about $2.5 million a year.
Green's hiring makes the Cardinals one of the most progressive franchises in the NFL when it comes to minority hiring. It's believed to be the first NFL team to have African-Americans as head coach and as head of football operations.
Last year, Rod Graves was named the team's vice president for football operations.
The hiring of Green represents a significant investment by the Cardinals. It's the most money the Cardinals have paid a head coach, and Michael Bidwill, the team's vice president, no doubt will point to that as more evidence that the franchise is committed to winning.
Neither Bidwill nor Graves returned phone calls Wednesday.
In a statement, owner Bill Bidwill called Green a "proven winner with an outstanding track record of success everywhere he has coached."
Green, 54, was head coach of the Minnesota Vikings for 10 seasons, from 1992 to 2001. He compiled a 101-70 record and took the Vikings to the playoffs eight times in 10 years.
He resigned with one game remaining in the 2001 season. The Vikings were 5-10 at the time, their worst record in Green's tenure.
In Minnesota, Green was also vice president of football operations and had final say over personnel. Although Green will have considerable input in personnel matters, Michael Bidwill has emphasized that final authority will belong to Graves.
Green already has started assembling a staff and said he hopes to have a few of his assistants hired by next week. It's possible he could interview some assistants from McGinnis' staff also.
Among the possible candidates for key positions are Baltimore Ravens assistant Jim Colletto, who could be the offensive coordinator; and former Minnesota and Atlanta assistant Emmitt Thomas, who could be the defensive coordinator.
Green and former Giants coach Jim Fassel were finalists for the job, and Cardinals officials were scheduled to interview Fassel today. They called him Wednesday evening to cancel.
The Cardinals interviewed four candidates last week, including defensive coordinators Romeo Crennel of New England and Jim Johnson of Philadelphia. Earlier this week, they said they wanted to conduct second interviews with all four candidates. Green, however, was clearly their first target, and he's the only one who received a second interview.
He wowed the Cardinals with his knowledge of the organization and its personnel. But then, he had plenty of time to prepare. He's been out of coaching for two years and worked for ESPN as well as working on several business ventures.
He was eager to return to coaching and said he thinks the Cardinals job is the perfect opportunity.
"I think the Bidwills have established they are committed," he said. "There is a new stadium (coming in 2006), a new coach, and we don't want the fans to wait for the new stadium to come out and see the new team."
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 7, 2004 12:00 AM
Like the five men who preceded him as the Cardinals' head coach, Dennis Green is convinced he can turn the franchise into a consistent winner.
Green, hired Wednesday as the team's new coach, will be introduced at a news conference Friday morning at the team's Tempe facility.
Among the first questions will be an old Cardinals standby: What makes you think you can win here?
Green said he's heard that before in turning around programs at Northwestern, Stanford and the Minnesota Vikings.
"When you are a turnaround guy, you are accustomed to people giving you that look," Green said Wednesday evening from his home near San Diego. "I think the big thing is getting over the hump. I look at the NFL this season, and there was not much difference between teams that were 4-12 and teams that were 10-6."
In the Cardinals' case, that hump is enormous. They've had one winning season since moving to Arizona in 1988, and they've won one playoff game since 1947. They've fired five coaches over the past 16 years.
Green, the team's sixth coach since it moved west, will receive a four-year deal with a team option for a fifth year. He'll make an average of about $2.5 million a year.
Green's hiring makes the Cardinals one of the most progressive franchises in the NFL when it comes to minority hiring. It's believed to be the first NFL team to have African-Americans as head coach and as head of football operations.
Last year, Rod Graves was named the team's vice president for football operations.
The hiring of Green represents a significant investment by the Cardinals. It's the most money the Cardinals have paid a head coach, and Michael Bidwill, the team's vice president, no doubt will point to that as more evidence that the franchise is committed to winning.
Neither Bidwill nor Graves returned phone calls Wednesday.
In a statement, owner Bill Bidwill called Green a "proven winner with an outstanding track record of success everywhere he has coached."
Green, 54, was head coach of the Minnesota Vikings for 10 seasons, from 1992 to 2001. He compiled a 101-70 record and took the Vikings to the playoffs eight times in 10 years.
He resigned with one game remaining in the 2001 season. The Vikings were 5-10 at the time, their worst record in Green's tenure.
In Minnesota, Green was also vice president of football operations and had final say over personnel. Although Green will have considerable input in personnel matters, Michael Bidwill has emphasized that final authority will belong to Graves.
Green already has started assembling a staff and said he hopes to have a few of his assistants hired by next week. It's possible he could interview some assistants from McGinnis' staff also.
Among the possible candidates for key positions are Baltimore Ravens assistant Jim Colletto, who could be the offensive coordinator; and former Minnesota and Atlanta assistant Emmitt Thomas, who could be the defensive coordinator.
Green and former Giants coach Jim Fassel were finalists for the job, and Cardinals officials were scheduled to interview Fassel today. They called him Wednesday evening to cancel.
The Cardinals interviewed four candidates last week, including defensive coordinators Romeo Crennel of New England and Jim Johnson of Philadelphia. Earlier this week, they said they wanted to conduct second interviews with all four candidates. Green, however, was clearly their first target, and he's the only one who received a second interview.
He wowed the Cardinals with his knowledge of the organization and its personnel. But then, he had plenty of time to prepare. He's been out of coaching for two years and worked for ESPN as well as working on several business ventures.
He was eager to return to coaching and said he thinks the Cardinals job is the perfect opportunity.
"I think the Bidwills have established they are committed," he said. "There is a new stadium (coming in 2006), a new coach, and we don't want the fans to wait for the new stadium to come out and see the new team."
