Dennis Green’s epic rant showed what a competitor he was
Former NFL and college football coach Dennis Green died Thursday night.
Green was a trailblazer — he was the first black head coach in Big Ten history when took the job at Northwestern.
Green was also incredibly successful — the Star-Tribune noted that he led the Vikings to the playoffs eight times, they advanced to the NFC title game twice and he finished with the second-most victories in franchise history, behind only Bud Grant.
When Green was the coach of the Arizona Cardinals, the team failed to make the playoffs, but many of the players he drafted were part of the team that appeared in Super Bowl XLIII.
Green’s time as Cardinals coach will long be remembered for his postgame news conference after a loss to the Bears. It showed what a competitor he was.
Many people shared their memories and condolences.
My heart goes out to family of my former coach Denny Green - we lost a good man way too soon!
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) July 22, 2016
RIP, Dennis Green, one of the trailblazers for minority coaches in the NFL, and a very good coach. Sad news.
— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) July 22, 2016
Dennis Green was obviously a good coach. Also a great player personnel evaluator among coaches. Was talking to someone about that yesterday.
— Mike Sando, ESPN.com (@SandoESPN) July 22, 2016
My deepest condolences to the family & friends of former NFL head coach Dennis Green and also my coach in @NFLPABowl ! Great guy #RIP
— Corey Washington Jr. (@HeDoubleTrouble) July 22, 2016
RIP Dennis Green. Please don't remember him for his "rant." Remember him as leader with a rare offensive mind who dared to be great.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 22, 2016
Dennis Green was B1G Coach of Yr in '82 after winning 3 gms. And he deserved it. Amazing how far NU has come - and he got ball rolling
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) July 22, 2016
Dennis Green’s first draft class in 2004 with the #AZCardinals was pretty good: Larry Fitzgerald, Karlos Dansby, Darnell Dockett
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 22, 2016
Pete Grathoff: 816-234-4330, @pgrathoff