MikesVikes Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Red spoke about dealing Moss today. Basically he said that he considered firing Tice during the season in order to make Randy play harder. This brainstorm from the used car salesman preceded Mike Tice's statement from the podium by only a few minutes. Way to go, Red! You'da man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted March 4, 2005 Author Share Posted March 4, 2005 McCombs said he considered firing Tice to keep Moss From staff and wire reports, Star Tribune March 4, 2005 VIKE0304 Vikings owner Red McCombs said today that he was so desperate at one point last season to spark a moribund team -- as well as to please and keep Randy Moss -- that he considered firing coach Mike Tice. McCombs, often lampooned by ardent fans for trading the record-setting receiver to Oakland, said he thought that one way to inspire Moss might be to change coaches. He added that Moss and Tice had been getting along. But, McCombs said, he worried about how dissatisfied Moss might be at the end of another fruitless season. Said Tice: "I gave serious thought to quitting, too. I thought, I don't need this [expletive]. So I guess we're even." McCombs explained his reasoning this way: "I recognized as we were moving into last year that there were some things that were beginning to just not fit. There were no specific instances or incidents, but there were some things that just weren't really coming together. "And then, unfortunately, Randy had his injury. And during the time that randy was injured and out, I began thinking, 'This thing is probably -- if we dont really get somewhere this year, Randy is going to be so disappointed when the season's over. We're going to be dissapointed.' I began to think, 'What could I do to make something happen there?' I gave very serious thought to replacing Mike about the time Randy was coming back off the injury. "My thought was that Randy had had two really good coaches in his seven years there. And here we were, nearing the end of the seventh year. We really had not accomplished much. And I knew that he was disappointed. Certainly we were disappointed. And I'm still thinking, 'How can I make this thing work to where we'll get that spark, the spark that comes from a player like Randy?' And there were no instances or issues between him and Mike, or me and Mike or me and him and Mike. It was just [that] that was how far I was thinking of maybe going to see that we could preserve this player, who will be one of the great players in the 100 years of the NFL. I have no doubt about it." McCombs said that Tice hadn't known about how close he came to being fired until about an hour before today's conference call with reporters. Changing coaches would have been the quickest way to send a major message, McCombs said, but ultimately he decided to stick with Tice, the league's lowest-paid head coach, and ship Moss and his $75 million contract to Oakland. In exchange for Moss, the Vikings received linebacker Napoleon Harris, the No. 7 pick in April's NFL draft and a seventh pick. The deal has drawn criticism from some fans who wanted more for their marquee player. McCombs said he had Tice's replacement picked out and ready to approach, but he didn't reveal who the person was. In Moss' seven years with the team, McCombs said, the team tried everything but failed to get the most out its talented but combustible player. "I really did not want to part company with Randy, but it had to happen,'' McCombs said. "I know Randy can do a lot more than what we got out of him. ... In seven years, we had all kinds of opportunities and we couldn't cash in on them.'' In a wide-ranging and sometimes bizarre teleconference, McCombs said he thought Moss was a "five-touchdown player in every game'' and lamented the Vikings' inability to get that kind of production out of him. Moss leaves Minnesota with every major receiving record for a player in his first seven seasons in the league. Tice, who spoke to reporters at the team's practice facility after McCombs' teleconference ended, mostly made light of the situation. "I gave serious thought to quitting sometimes,'' Tice joked. "I thought, 'I don't need this (stuff). So I guess we're even.'' McCombs said it was inevitable that some fans would think the team didn't get enough for Moss. He didn't think they did, either. "If we'd have gotten twice what we got, (it wouldn't have been equal),'' McCombs said. "He's one of my favorite players and one of my favorite people in all of sports and he will remain that way.'' Moss' numerous distractions on and off the field didn't play a role in making the trade, McCombs said. Those included being fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during Minnesota's playoff win, walking off the field 2 seconds left in a regular-season loss against Washington and verbally abusing corporate sponsors on a team bus in 2001. "Those never had any issue with me,'' McCombs said. "We knew Randy wasn't a jerk.'' McCombs, who also owned the San Antonio Spurs, called Moss the third superstar he's had, joining Spurs greats George Gervin and David Robinson. "He will be one of the great players in the 100 years of the NFL,'' McCombs said. "I have no doubt about that. "It worked out well here, but he wasn't getting us to where I thought we had a chance to go. ... It was time to make a move. It was time for Randy and it was time for us.'' Tice disputed McCombs' claim that the Vikings were unable to tap Moss' full potential. "We built our offense around him so I don't know how we could get more out of him,'' Tice said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 (edited) I thought they brought Tice in to make Moss play harder. Either way - didn't work Edited March 4, 2005 by Piranha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted March 4, 2005 Author Share Posted March 4, 2005 I thought they brought Tice in to make Moss play harder. Either way - didn't work 720308[/snapback] That gives me a great idea for a Dr. Seuss book.... Could you, would you for a duck? Could you, would you for a buck? Could you, would you for a roach? Could you, would you for a coach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 That gives me a great idea for a Dr. Seuss book.... Could you, would you for a duck? Could you, would you for a buck? Could you, would you for a roach? Could you, would you for a coach? 720319[/snapback] Granted, 'ol Red is an imbecile, but this is exactly why I would never want Moss on my team. There was a thread a while back that referred to Moss' "football" value, meaning what he was capable of doing on the field, his playmaking ability, his talent. On this basis alone, Moss is one of the best there ever was.... but... a players value goes beyond that to the so called intangables. For some players, it increases thier value to a team, in other cases it decreases it. With Moss, the negative intanables are great enough to make him a negatively valued player. He creates more adversity than he can offset with the positives he can create on the field. The owner was thinking about firing a coach just to get Moss to take fewer plays off? Don't think for a minute that his teamates didn't know the special treatment he was getting, either. Football is a team sport, and the biggest ME guy on the team was getting all the special treatment. I am sure that the Vikings will be a better team without him.There ya go, I said it. If even his best friend on the team had said it was enough, maybe CPep was right? No, I am sure he was right. For the Vikes fans who don't think so, take a look at what you got for trading him. It would appear that virtually every other team in the NFL would agree. You are better off without him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 (edited) <===== Gloating Packer fan Edited March 4, 2005 by Fatman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 <===== Gloating Packer fan 720386[/snapback] Don't gloat too much cheesehead. As disfunctional as this team has become, they still kicked your ass in the playoffs last year. What's that make the Packers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted March 4, 2005 Author Share Posted March 4, 2005 <===== Gloating Packer fan 720386[/snapback] You don't look a pound over 299. Obtw, the Packers are looking for some new fat men for OL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 You don't look a pound over 299. Obtw, the Packers are looking for some new fat men for OL. 720484[/snapback] Shouldn't that read Bloating Packer Fan then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolv Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 You don't look a pound over 299. Obtw, the Packers are looking for some new fat men for OL. 720484[/snapback] Cowboy don't mind.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Don't gloat too much cheesehead. As disfunctional as this team has become, they still kicked your ass in the playoffs last year. What's that make the Packers? 720476[/snapback] Three division titles and counting...I'll give you the playoff victory, but it's not like either the Pack or Vikes, as flawed as they were/are, were going to make much noise in the playoffs past that game anyways (as evidenced by your ass whooping in Philly). I'll also say enjoy that playoff victory while you can - you and Napoleon Dynamite and your No. 7 won't be sniffing the playoffs for a while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 You don't look a pound over 299. Obtw, the Packers are looking for some new fat men for OL. 720484[/snapback] Thank you - I've heard vertical stripes are slimming. We do need a couple of guards, but the Vikes interior run defense is so porous, it hardly matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Thank you - I've heard vertical stripes are slimming. We do need a couple of guards, but the Vikes interior run defense is so porous, it hardly matters. 720856[/snapback] What are you talking about? We've got Big Fat Williams now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 What are you talking about? We've got Big Fat Williams now. 720866[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gspot Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 (edited) <===== Gloating Packer fan 720386[/snapback] Wow, considering the "dismantling" going on in GB, as they continue to "blow-up" Sherman "the Sh1t pile's" past work, I would think gloating would be the last thing a Pack fan would be doing. Side Note: As an outside observer, I continue to wonder how many times Darren Sharper can be grossly out of position, arrive late to a double-team, and be burned in any given season before he is driving a beer truck. No offense to beer truck drivers. Edited March 4, 2005 by gspot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebellab Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Wow, considering the "dismantling" going on in GB, as they continue to "blow-up" Sherman "the Sh1t pile's" past work, I would think gloating would be the last thing a Pack fan would be doing.Side Note: As an outside observer, I continue to wonder how many times Darren Sharper can be grossly out of position, arrive late to a double-team, and be burned in any given season before he is driving a beer truck. No offense to beer truck drivers. 721024[/snapback] Packer fans are like that. They are quick to gloat when the Vikings are down, but after a Viking victory they are no where to be found to have their faces rubbed in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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