BRICKER: Green would look good in Dolphins aqua

Published November 12, 2003

 

 

You can't mistake the voice of Dennis Green on a telephone line, with its ever-present staccato, semi-hoarse burst of energy.

 

The man can surely talk. But, unlike the gasbags who have infected professional sports in the past few years, you don't tire of listening to him.

 

Does he want to coach again? "I did it for 30 years. I walked away from it," said Green, who won 101 games in 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and came within an overtime of reaching Super Bowl XXXIII.

 

He paused, perhaps for effect, then added, as I suspected he would: "There's no doubt I miss the game. I'd love to coach again, but it would have to be for an owner who is serious about football. That's all a head coach wants ... an organization that wants to win. If there is a situation available where ownership is serious about winning and you can help the players do that, I'd be interested. But I wouldn't go back just to go back."

 

I phoned Green because after the Dolphins' debacle Sunday in Nashville, it was only natural to begin projecting this coach or that coach into the Dolphins' job -- wondering whether he could do a better job than Dave Wannstedt has this season.

 

That's not to say the job is about to open up. Owner H. Wayne Huizenga isn't going to run Wannstedt out of South Florida during this slump because (a) he's not a man prone to panic and (b) even if the Dolphins don't win the AFC East, a wild card is in sight. Get into the playoffs and anything can happen. Ask the Marlins.

 

Green has an altogether different personality than Wannstedt. He's more of a gambler, and that extends to the draft. He's also feistier and more prone to explosions or temper. And yet, somehow, he manages to keep a close relationship with his players.

 

A little temper might be exactly what these Dolphins need right now. A lack of locker room discipline has showed up the past couple of weeks with Ricky Williams and Jason Taylor sniping at game plans and coaching strategies.

 

If Wannstedt is terminated after this season, his draft picks, and particularly that of linebacker Eddie Moore in April, will be a major factor. Green walked into the Vikings' job in 1992 after General Manager Mike Lynn had traded first-, second- and third-round picks away for the faded running back Herschel Walker. Yet Green quickly recovered from the mistake.

 

Over the years, his high picks included running back Robert Smith, tackle Todd Steussie, tackle Korey Stringer, linebacker Dwayne Rudd, wide receiver Randy Moss, quarterback Daunte Culpepper, defensive tackle Chris Hovan and running back Michael Bennett.

 

But he always had an eye for late-round or rookie free-agent talent as well. He drafted quarterback Brad Johnson in the ninth round and center Matt Birk in the sixth.

 

"I believe in the John Randles, Robert Griffiths and Brian Russells ... guys that were never drafted," Green said. "There are a lot of personnel guys in this league that think if a player isn't rated high or is picked over, it's almost impossible to develop them. I have a hard time working with people who believe that."

 

One of Green's greatest moves was taking Moss in a year when 20 other clubs passed on him in the first round because of his history of brushes with the law.

 

"This young man had some problems, but after he went to Marshall, nothing. I felt all along he'd fall to us," Green said. "I never spoke with him about those things before the draft because I didn't want him coming in feeling as if he was on probation.

 

"After the draft, I laid it out for him. I told him I respected him for what he had accomplished but that he was going to get paid like the No. 21 pick, not a top-five pick."

 

When Green and the Vikings parted in 2002, after some tumultuous years in which he was constantly at odds with the Minneapolis and St. Paul press, Green retreated to one of his loves, fishing, and to periodic NFL commentary.

 

He would have been an excellent fit at the 49ers this year after coaching at Stanford and as an assistant to Bill Walsh. But the new management there didn't want any ties to the Walsh/DeBartolo era, and they selected Dennis Erickson.

 

And so he's out there, talking football and making it clear he's available. Would he be a good fit for the Dolphins? I have no doubt.

 

hmm, just wondering :whistle

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-bri...la-sports-front

He's a jerk but he's one hell of a football coach.

 

But if he coaches you guys, I would hope that he keeps whatever bad seeds that may be/are on the team in check.

 

In Minnesota he had no control over the players and no dicsipline.

 

I would hope that changes if we were to ever coach you guys.