Daily Norseman
Welcome to the All-Time Favorite Viking Team series. We’re going through and voting by position for your favorite Minnesota Vikings. We’ve completed the on the field portion and we’re on to the coaching staff. The coordinators are set and I assume the results of today’s Head Coaching poll will be lopsided.
Norm Van Brocklin (1961-1966)
29-51-4 Regular Season (36.9%)
The Dutchman skipped his senior year in High School and joined the US Navy for World War II from 1943-1945. After the war he played QB for the Oregon Ducks. He was a hell of a player winning MVP in 1960 and was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1971. He was the QB for the only team to beat Vinve Lombardi’s Packers in a playoff game. Van Brocklin only came to Minnesota after a misunderstanding around an agreement for him to take over for the retiring Buck Shaw. He accepted the Vikings Head Coaching job a month after winning the 1960 NFL Championship. He frequently fought with Fran Tarkenton and was the reason for Tarkenton’s request for a trade. Van Broklin resigned on February 11, 1967 and the Vikings traded Tarkenton soon after. He later coached the Falcons and retired to a pecan farm in Georgia. He came back to coaching for one season as Running Backs Coach for Georgia Tech.
Bud Grant (1967-1983, 1985)
158-96-5 Regular Season (62.0%) / 10 - 12 Postseason (45.5%)
Grant was a tough as they come. He regularly held practice outside in the cold and did not allow heaters on the sidelines. He’s a legend. I can’t do him justice here. Grant’s coaching tree includs Neill Armstrong, Jerry Burns, Pete Carroll, Bob Hollway, Jack Patera, Buddy Ryan, Les Steckel, and Marc Trestman. Grant won Coach of the Year in 1969. He was coach for Alan Page’s MVP/DPOY Season, Chuck Foreman’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, Fran Tarkenton’s MVP/OPOY Season and Sammy White’s Offensive Player of the Year. He was coach for all four of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances.
Grant played football, basketball and baseball for the University of Minnesota. He was drafted in the 1st Round of the NFL draft and 4th round of the NBA draft. He won the championship with the Minneapolis Lakers in 1950. He played DE for the Eagles in 1951 and led the team in sacks. The next season he switched to WR and led the NFL in receiving yards. He left after he felt the Eagles refused to pay him what he was worth. He went on to play for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He spent 10 seasons with the Blue Bombers as their Head Coach after his playing days were over. He won 4 Grey Cups as coach. Marv Levy and Bud Grant are the only coaches to coach a Super Bowl and a Grey Cup. A statue of Grant was unveiled in 2014 outside of Winnipeg’s IG Field.
Jerry Burns (1986-1991)
52-43 Regular Season (54.7%) / 3-3 Postseason (50%)
Burns was a Viking from...
