One of the coaches the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have interviewed is Brad Childress, the former Minnesota Vikings head coach. Childress, like almost every other coaching candidate, has experience as a head coach. Like the other interviewees, he has a winning record, going 39-35 in five years with the Vikings, while winning one playoff game in that time. Before he became a head coach he also had a lot of success as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, helping them reach three straight NFC Championships and one Super Bowl.
Of course, Brad Childress may be best remembered for the ending to his reign as the Minnesota Vikings' head coach. After reaching the NFC Championship Game with Brett Favre at quarterback in 2009, the Minnesota Vikings collapsed in 2010 and Childress was fired after ten games and a lot of drama involving Favre and Randy Moss. To outside observers, it seemed like Childress has lost a power struggle with Brett Favre - one of his own players. That's just really bad form for a head coach.
Previous Experience
Running Backs Coach, University of Illinois, 1978-1980
Wide Receivers Coach, University of Illinois, 1981-1984
Quarterbacks Coach, Indianapolis Colts, 1985
Offensive Coordinator, Northern Arizona University, 1986-1989
Wide Receivers Coach, University of Utah, 1990
Running Backs Coach, University of Wisconsin, 1991-1993
Offensive Coordinator, University of Wisconsin, 1994-1998
Quarterbacks Coach, Philadelphia Eagles, 1999-2001
Offensive Coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles, 2002-2005
Head Coach, Minnesota Vikings, 2006-2010
Why Brad Childress should be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Head Coach:
- He's had a lot of success as an offensive coach
Brad Childress may have had some problems as a head coach in Minnesota, but as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach he has had a lot of success. He managed to develop Donovan McNabb into a very good starter, as five of McNabb's six Pro Bowls came with Childress as either the quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator. Those Philadelphia offenses were pretty good, and he managed to produce some decent offenses in Minnesota despite not having much at the quarterback position. And when he did have Brett Favre at quarterback, he got Favre to play as well as he had ever played - at age 39. If the Bucs want to build around Josh Freeman and get him going, they could do a lot worse than Brad Childress. - He's experienced and he has won
Despite the problems at the end of his tenure, Brad Childress did win consistently in the NFC North with Minnesota. He managed two division titles in what really wasn't an easy division and made it to within a field goal of the Super Bowl in his best season. The end may have been ugly, but he certainly produced in Minnesota. - That's it
I can't think of another reason. I really can't. This is the first candidate for whom I couldn't find a good third reason to hire him.
- Can he control a team?
At the end of his tenure, Brad Childress couldn't control the team. He cut Randy Moss without communicating with the front office or the owner. Brett Favre was rebelling rather publicly, and the Vikings kept losing games. Even when they were winning in 2010 there were rumors of Childress' fighting with Brett Favre. For a team looking for a head coach who can control the team and insert some discipline, that's not a good look. - Can he find the right assistants?
Assembling a quality coaching staff is an important part of being a head coach. For Brad Childress the question is whether he can do that. He's spent his entire professional career with just two teams: the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. Does he have the connections to put together a strong coaching staff? - Will he appease the fans?
While the Glazers have rightly said that appeasing the fanbase isn't their priority, but finding the right coach is, Brad Childress would perhaps be the worst coach they could pick if they wanted to excite the fanbase. Childress has a terrible reputation among fans, and I haven't heard a single positive reaction to his interview with the Bucs. That doesn't make him a bad coach, but it does mean fans aren't about to give him a long leash before complaining.
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