Brad Childress

NFL PlayerCoach
Color=indigo
fontcolor=gold


ImageWidth
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1956|6|27
Birthplace= Aurora, Illinois
College=Eastern Illinois
Position=Head coach
Career Highlights=yes
coach=yes
coachingyears=1978-1980

1981-1984

1985

1986-1989

1990

1991-1993

1994-1998

1999-2002

2003-2005

2006-"present"
coachingteams=University of Illinois
(runningbacks coach)
University of Illinois
(wide receivers coach)
Indianapolis Colts
(quarterbacks coach)
Northern Arizona University
(offensive coordinator)
University of Utah
(wide receivers coach)
University of Wisconsin-Madison
(quarterbacks coach)
University of Wisconsin-Madison
(offensive coordinator)
Philadelphia Eagles
(quarterbacks coach)
Philadelphia Eagles
(offensive coordinator)
Minnesota Vikings
(head coach)
RegularRecord=14-18-0
PlayoffRecord=0-0
Record=14-18-0
Championships=2004 NFC Championship
PFRCoach=ChilBr0

Brad Childress (born June 27, 1956 in Aurora, Illinois, U.S.) is a professional American football coach. He attended High School at Marmion Academy. Prior to being selected as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings beginning with the 2006 season, Childress worked as an assistant coach for various college organizations and NFL franchises, most recently with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Before Minnesota

Prior to his hiring by the Vikings, Childress had worked exclusively as an offensive coach, working his way up through the ranks in various college and NFL organizations, first as a position coach, culminating with his offensive coordinator position with the Eagles.Since 1978, Childress has worked for four college organizations and three NFL teams:
*University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, running backs/wide receivers coach (1978–1984)
*Indianapolis Colts, quarterbacks coach (1985)
*Northern Arizona University, offensive coordinator (1986–1989)
*University of Utah, wide receivers coach (1990)
*University of Wisconsin-Madison, running backs coach, offensive coordinator (1991-1998)
*Philadelphia Eagles, quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator (1999–2005)
*Minnesota Vikings, head coach (2006–Present)

Childress' career winning percentage in his 30 years of coaching is 56%.

Hiring by the Minnesota Vikings

On January 6, 2006, Childress was hired to be the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. This choice was the result of short-lived selection process. Former coach Mike Tice was informed that his contract would not be renewed shortly after the Vikings' last game of the 2005 season on December 31. Four candidates were interviewed by the Vikings: Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders, Indianapolis Colts assistant head coach Jim Caldwell, and former Vikings defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell.

The short length and small breadth of the selection process was questioned. Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, who is known as an intense football fan but not as an expert on the game, was criticized for not first hiring a top-shelf personnel manager who would then be tasked with hiring a new head coach.

Coaching Style

Brad Childress is considered a third generation West Coast Offense disciple and is part of the Bill Walsh coaching tree. His coaching style borrows heavily from his time at the Philadelphia Eagles working under Andy Reid, who worked under Mike Holmgren, who worked under Walsh.Walsh popularized the West Coast Offense system while winning three Super Bowls with it in the 1980s. Since then many of Walsh's coordinators have spread it to others teams successfully.

A Star Tribune article quoted Childress as saying this about Holmgren, his mentor's mentor: "For people that know what they're looking at, Mike is the purest of the West Coast guys," Childress said. "He's still running the split-back sweep, which, football-wise, people don't believe you can bring a back on that side of the formation over to this side of the formation and run it around the corner.

"He's still attacking nickels the same way. ... Not that they are not creative, but he has not fiddled with it to the extent that maybe Mike Shanahan, Andy Reid, Jon Gruden, those guys (other West Coast Offense disciples) have."

"I know [Holmgren] has added stuff, too, but as you always go back, you say, 'Geez, there is 72 X Shallow Cross. Holy cow,' " he said. "They are running that base play out of the [original] west Coast offense. It's not too simple for him. It still has merit to it." [http://www.startribune.com/510/story/747267.html]

When Childress briefly signed Todd Pinkston after being cut from Philadelphia Eagles, Pinkston said the Vikings playbook was pretty much the same as Philadelphia's. One noticeable difference has been an overt effort to stick to the running game more than the Eagles have, resembling Mike Shanahan's style with the Broncos more closely. In his first season he went out of his way to sign offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson, fullback Tony Richardson, and running back Chester Taylor. Having made comments on how the lack of a running game really hurt them in Philadelphia, he's stuck to the running game more than the Minnesota Vikings have seen in almost a decade. Half-way through the season, Chester Taylor had either run with the ball or been passed to on 44% of the offensive plays. [http://www.tauntongazette.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17378940&BRD=1711&PAG=461&dept_id=586288&rfi=6]

Criticism

The Vikings were 6-10 in Childress' first year as head coach after going 9-7 the year before. Between those seasons, the Vikings added talent through free-agency and allowed Childress to bring in his own coaching staff. (Both opportunities that previous head coach Mike Tice did not have.) In Childress' second season as coach, the Vikings went 8-8 despite the addition of running back Adrian Peterson through the draft.

Many players have expressed frustration over the play-calling and overall philosophy of Childress during his 2-year tenure as head coach of the Vikings. A few players, including Brad Johnson, Jermaine Wiggins, and Travis Taylor, asked for and received their releases.

During Childress' first year as coach, Marcus Robinson said that Childress had a "total lack of communication" with the players. At the time Robinson was leading the team in TD receptions, but he was immediately cut--on Christmas Day.

The play-calling during Childress' 2 years as head coach has also been criticized. Last year in particular, many people were frustrated that the Vikings did not use Adrian Peterson significantly in the passing game. Childress often stated that Peterson "needs to improve his pass-blocking" as an explanation, but sending Peterson out to the flat or releasing him underneath to catch passes would not require him to pass-protect. Also puzzling was the lack of screens run for Peterson. Typically a staple of the West Coast Offense, the screen was rarely used in Childress' offense last year despite having 3 players--Adrian Peterson, Matt Birk, and Steve Hutchinson--who seem well-suited to execute the screen.

Another criticism of Childress is that he has made poor decisions about who to play. For example, Childress refused to play Adrian Peterson as more than a backup during the first half of his rookie season and did not play him on game-ending drives in losses to the Packers and Chiefs. Childress has also drawn criticism for playing wide receiver Troy Williamson for 2 seasons and for his frequent refusal to have Mewelde Moore return punts. Sidney Rice was also underused in his rookie season.

Perhaps the biggest criticism of Childress is his unwillingness and/or inability to make successful offensive adjustments during games. In many games under Childress, the Vikings opening drive is successful, but the offense struggles to move the ball during the rest of the game.

Despite these criticisms, the front-office has remained publicly loyal to Childress, and the talent through the draft and free-agency has steadily improved since the Wilfs took ownership of the Vikings.

Many fans have questioned whether head coach is the right position for Childress because of the criticisms above and other unmentioned criticisms. A common response is that Childress has had a significant role in the draft and in improving the talent on the Vikings. While that may be true, it does not validate his position as head coach because drafting and improving the talent of a team are usually the role of the GM and front-office. This argument seems to show that Childress would be a better fit in the front-office than as a head coach.

Personal life

Childress is married and has four children. His wife's name is Dru-Ann, and his children's names are Cara, Kyle, Andrew, and Christopher. He is one of a current triumvirate of Eastern Illinois University alums that are head coaches in the NFL, along with Mike Shanahan and Sean Payton. He has recently joined Minnetonka Country Club in Minnetonka Minnesota. Childress is also known to bear a striking resemblance to Major Dad star Gerald McRaney. [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nfl&id=2403061]

External links

* [http://www.startribune.com/510/story/166073.html Vikings set to pick Brad Childress] , Minneapolis Star Tribune story
* [http://www.vikings.com/coach_detail_objectname_Brad_Childress.html Vikings team coaching bio]