In Green's mold: Cardinals are who their former coach thought they were

By Ed Zieralski (Contact)
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
January 26, 2009

Green: "My world is living here in San Diego and fishing with my son and playing golf with my wife and daughter..."

Dennis Green went 16-32 in three seasons as the Arizona Cardinals coach. He was fired after finishing 5-11 in the 2006 season. If Dennis Green harbors any bitterness for being fired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals after the 2006 season, he doesn''t show it. If there''s a tinge of sadness that Ken Whisenhunt, and not him, is in Tampa Bay this week coach- ing the Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, he''s not saying that, either.

There certainly weren''t any signs of that early Saturday morning as Green, wearing a hat with his trademark saying, “They Are Who We Thought They Were” on it, fished from a boat on Dixon Lake in Escondido. Green''s 10-year-old son, Zach, fished next to him, and they were joined by Jed Dickerson and his son, Jed Jr.

Anyone there saw a boat filled with the laughter and excitement of two fathers with their sons, enjoying a morning fishing on a lake.

Fishing always has been a big part of Green''s world, dating back to his youth in Harrisburg, Pa. And now that he''s retired from coaching, living in San Diego and approaching his 60th birthday next month, Green spends as much time as he can with his wife, Marie, daughter, Vanessa, 11, and son.

“I like where I''m at in my life,” Green said. “My world is living here in San Diego and fishing with my son and playing golf with my wife and daughter every chance I get. “I look back at Arizona and I feel good knowing I did what I do, which is turn programs around. My thing is to turn it around and win. We turned it around, but we didn''t win as we were doing it. The owner (William V. Bidwill) was disappointed, and I was disappointed.

“I don''t feel bad. I feel proud of them, proud that many of them have reached their potential. I always felt I did the best I could do. I clearly see where we could have done better, but we had a couple of bad breaks. That''s part of it, too, and I''m willing to accept it and understand it.”

Green stays busy these days as president of Dennis Green Sports Marketing and Greenlight Sports Marketing. He also volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club of America. He always has been a strong advocate of community involvement.

More recently, he began representing Dickerson, Mac Weakley and Mike Winn, the three anglers who were part of the famous big bass story at Dixon Lake in March 2006. Next Monday, Green is hosting a party at his San Diego home to show the West Coast premiere of National Geographic''s “The Wild Series, Hooked On Fishing,” with the first installment being a documentary on the life of Dottie, the internationally famous 25- pound, 1-ounce bass with the unmistakable dot under her right gill plate.

Dottie was found belly-up at Dixon in May 2008, but that was after she was caught and released three times, the last after getting foul-hooked by Weakley in 2006. Green also is teaching a sports management business class at San Diego State. A part of the course includes exploring ways to keep the Chargers in San Diego by improving Qualcomm Stadium or building a new stadium. Green is a leading authority on that subject.

Last Friday afternoon, Green filmed a segment at KUSI-TV that will air Wednesday at 9 p.m. He offered his solution to keep the Chargers in town: another renovation of Qualcomm Stadium, paying for it with a mix of private and public funds.

When Green was in Phoenix, he saw what a new stadium does for a community. Green went 16-32 in three seasons as the Cardinals coach from 2004-06. Counting his 10 years with the Vikings, he was 117-102 as a head coach in the NFL (including the postseason), placing him 30th all-time among NFL head coaches in total wins, just ahead of Don Coryell''s 114.

Green was fired after a disappointing 5-11 2006 season that began with the excitement of a new stadium, sellout crowds, a promising rookie quarterback in Matt Leinart and the signing of Pro Bowl running back Edgerrin James.

Mix that with the emergence of a very successful 2004 draft that included wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, the son of Green''s good friend, Minneapolis sportswriter and radio personality Larry Fitzgerald Sr., and it''s no wonder many picked the Cardinals to contend in the NFC West. But after a 1-4 start, including two losses by a total of five points, the Cardinals were reeling going into a Monday night game against the 5-0 Chicago Bears.

Today, Green refers to what happened after that game as his “very famous blowup,” his memorable Monday night meltdown. It came at the postgame news conference after his Cardinals held a 23-3 lead with 10 seconds left in the third quarter, only to collapse and lose 24-23 to the Bears.

Peter King wrote the next day in his “Monday Morning QB” column on SI.com that Green''s news conference was a “sound bite that will live in infamy.” Clearly shaken by his side''s collapse, Green lost it when a reporter asked if he was surprised his defense forced six turnovers by Bears quarterback Rex Grossman. Green explained that the Cardinals beat the Bears 23-16 in the third preseason game in which both teams played starters for three quarters.

Finally, his voice rising in anger, Green said: “The Bears are who we thought they were. And that''s why we took the damn field.”

Green paused and then slapped the microphone, adding: “Now if you wanna crown ''em, then crown their (expletive deleted). But they are who we thought they were . . . and we let them off the hook.”

The incident was totally out of character for Green. Today, he pokes fun at the incident by selling hats with two phrases he has trademarked, “They Are Who We Thought They Were” and “We Let Them Off The Hook.”

“They kept comparing that Bears team to the ''85 Super Bowl Bears, and I knew that wasn''t the case,” Green said. “I was at Northwestern then, living in Chicago. I knew the ''85 Bears, and that 2006 Bears defense wasn''t close to the one the ''85 team had. We were going through some tough times and that played a big part in me having that very famous blowup. It represented the frustration our whole team felt at that time. We were 1-5, but really, we should have been 4-2.”

The Arizona job was Green''s last in coaching, and he says he doubts he will get back into the profession, especially considering the move toward younger head coaches in the NFL. The job with the Cardinals represented his fourth rebuilding job after taking on team renovations at Northwestern, Stanford and the Minnesota Vikings.

Green became the first black head coach to advance his team to an NFL championship game when his 1998 Vikings, which were 15-1 in the regular season, were upset in overtime by the Atlanta Falcons.

One of his former assistant coaches, Tony Dungy, would become the first black head coach to win the Super Bowl with Indianapolis after the 2006 season.

But it was Green who helped pave the way for the black coaches who have followed him into the NFL. He was the second black head coach in NCAA Division I history after Willie Jeffries, who was head coach at Wichita State in 1979. And Green was the third black head coach in the NFL after Fritz Pollard (1928 Chicago Black Hawks) and Art Shell (1983 Oakland Raiders).

There already have been stories leading up to Sunday''s Super Bowl praising Green''s knack for evaluating talent, particularly the athletes that were on his “120 Board,” a concept he picked up from his mentor, Bill Walsh, and one he introduced at Arizona. Green and others in the organization such as Rod Graves, vice president of football operations, ranked the top 120 prospects in the order they would select them if available.

Green''s 2004 draft brought to the Cardinals wide receiver Fitzgerald from Pitt, Auburn linebacker Karlos Dansby, Florida State defensive tackle Darnell Dockett and defensive end Antonio Smith. They''re considered the core of this year''s NFC champions.

“Denny Green''s got a lot to do with this because you''ve got to know how to draft,” Dockett told the Arizona Republic. “I think that (class) kick-started the whole thing and helped the organization turn it around.”

Dockett added: “He told us, ''Y''all gonna be my guys. I want you to go out and play.'' Even though we made mistakes as rookies, he kept us in games.”

Green said he''ll spend Super Bowl Sunday in San Diego, probably fishing early with Zach and then watching the game with his family and friends.

If the Cardinals upset the Steelers, Green will be gratified to know the players he brought in are who he thought they were. Ed Zieralski: (619) 293-1225; ed.zieralski@uniontrib.com