Top 5 moments of Dennis Green’s career
By Hunter Cooke
2. The third African-American head coach in NFL history
Dennis Green didn’t merely shatter your expectations on the field, he defied society as well. When he took the head coaching position at the Vikings in 1992, he became the third African American head coach in NFL history, preceded only by Art Shell of the Los Angeles Raiders and Fritz Pollard, who played running back and became the co-head coach of the Akron Pros in 1921.
In his first six years with the Vikings, Green never posted a losing record and only missed the playoffs once. Green became a household name for turning around the struggling franchise, which had just executed one of the most disastrous trades in NFL history when they sold the farm for Herschel Walker. The Vikings were reeling, and the stability Green brought bolstered the franchise for years to come.
Green never held the Lombardi Trophy over his head, but he proved that he could revive an NFL franchise. He had recently received praise for turning around the Stanford Cardinal and preforming admirably in ridiculously bad conditions with the Northwestern Wildcats. His legacy was cemented outside of race, he wasn’t simply an African-American head coach, he was a great African-American head coach, one who was ultimately fired because he couldn’t live up to the expectations of a demanding franchise.
Next: 1. The 1998 season with the Vikings