Former college and NFL head coach Dennis "Denny" Green died early Friday morning after suffering complications from cardiac arrest. He was 67. His family confirmed his death in a short statement:
Green was likely best known for his fiery postgame "They are who we thought they were!" rant that came after his Arizona Cardinals endured a Monday Night Football meltdown against Chicago in 2006:
But Green wasĀ much more than just a 45-second sound bite.
Green was a head coach in the NFL for 13 seasons, 10 of which he spent with the Minnesota Vikings (1992-2001) before spending three seasons with the Cardinals (2004-2006). He made the move to the pros after eight years as a college head coach at Northwestern and Stanford, and he also served for 10 years as an assistant at the collegiate and NFL levels throughout the course of his career.
Green's career record in the NFL during the regular season was 113-94, and he went 4-8 in the postseason. His best year undoubtedly came in 1998 when he coached up the Vikings to a 15-1 season. The season ended with a major upset loss to the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game, but that Minnesota team ended up setting an NFL record for most points in a season.
Green also got Minnesota back to the NFC title game in 2000, where the team lost to the Giants. In his decade in Minneapolis, he had just one losing season, which came in his final year. He led the team to the playoffs eight times.
Green's death inspired an outpouring of condolences on Twitter from former players, current players, coaches, analysts, and more:
RIP.
