Wilf- a class act?

[Bobby Bass]

Well Wilf fired Tice before he could get his spikes off. When I first heard this I was a bit miffed, not because Tice was fired but in the way it was done. From locker room reports not many players had anything to say about the firing, of course they have jobs and you have to watch what you say. I'll bet there will be comments down the road as they are dumped also. I hope that Wilf will lay the axe on a few players who in my opinion did a lot more to do a lot less for the Vikings this season. I wish Tice well and I will watch what ever team he hooks up with. Like I have said before he was not the best head coach but he is a fine line coach and a players coach. As for Mr. Wilf he has done nothing to impress me as an owner. Just another business as usual. Fire a guy and then take off so no one can question you. I am sure I will have more to say when there is more information out there.. Thanks Mike, You may have been part of the problem but at least you were finding ways to fix a burning Viking ship..

[LMITOUT]

I first off want to say that I'm not a Vikings fan. But, I have to agree that the way Wilf went about the firing was a little strange and it probably would have been better if it were handled tomorrow. I'm not sure why the rush. Maybe he didn't feel like staying overnight in MN and wanted to get it overwith, although I wonder if he'll be at the noon press conference tomorrow anyway.

When it comes down to it the facts are there to support it. In his four full years as head coach he went 33-33, including two playoff games where he went 1-1. And if you look into those 33 wins further, you'll see that 7 of those "victories" this year were against losing teams. You could probably say 8 because the Bears really didn't play much of their first line today. The win over the Giants was the only "quality" win this year. He only made the playoffs once, and some say he could have been let go that year if not beating the Packers in the playoffs which may have saved him.

I think Wilf wants to take this team in a new direction and getting a new coach may bring a new attitude and freshness to the team. With their salary cap situation it wouldn't surprise me that they bring in some quality players with a known coach to try to get to the next level. The firing might also be another plea to the legislature that the owner wants to win and wants to make the Vikings a legit team, therefore a few brownie points towards getting funding for a new stadium.

Overall I believe it was best for this franchise as long as Wilf gets a decent replacement.

[Josh8481]

It was reported during these last 2 weeks that Tice stated that if he were to be fired, he wanted to be informed right away about it, instead of it dragging on into the off-season. If you watched his press conference after the Ravens game, he said that he didn't like the idea of uncertainty going into the last game and the offseason, he wanted to be able to tell the team "it was a pleasure coaching you," or "this is what we need to improve upon as a team." Wilf just gave Tice the respect to tell him up front that he wasn't getting the extension.

[Josh8481]

Another thing, as far as the players being miffed about the firing...they obviously will be given Tice's reputation as a player's coach. He gave them break after break, treated them as friends instead of his players, and never went hard on them when they made a mistake either on the field or off. He wasn't a disciplinarian, so obviously the players would be [PoorWordUsage]ed that the guy who they were buddy-buddy with will be replaced with a more hard-nosed coach.

[LMITOUT]

It was stated this morning that when Tice was informed of his fate right after the game, he was the one who chose to announce it then and there. So all the hoopla about Wilf being cutthroat and insensitive has really been unfair to him.

[Bobby Bass]

So how come Tice's wife found out about it in the parking lot by a reporter. Seems the firing was released to the media before Tice could get out of the building to tell his wife. Not complaining about the firing that seems to be very common in any business. Even in the city of Duluth an employee of the mayor was fired by a note taped to his office door. Respect is a two way street, I think Tice deserved a little better. As for the sooner then later comment. I don't think Tice was talking about being fired within an hour of his last game. More along the lines of a few days not a few weeks and that is simply because his coaching staff needs to be released so they can hook up with other teams.

[LMITOUT]

According to the Star Trib, Tice called his wife while she was waiting in the parking lot. The Wilfs had the press release in hand and when Tice said to do it immediately they were distributed right away. With all the press in the locker room area it was broadcast as soon as the papers were given out which didn't leave Tice much time. He said the "vibes" weren't good thoughout the week and he was prepared for it even before the official notice was given last night, so I would assume it wasn't a big shock to him or his family that it happened.