Professional Biography
Entering his 3rd season leading the Minnesota Vikings, Head Coach Brad Childress has a team built on his principles for winning football. The Vikings feature strong play along both lines, a dynamic running game and an opportunistic defense. A bevy of top-flight linemen have been important to developing the identity of the Vikings and are being complimented by emerging playmakers. The Vikings had 7 players in 2007 rewarded with Pro Bowl berths, the most since the 2000 season.
Since taking over the Vikings in 2006, Childress has placed a premium on playing smart football, minimizing mistakes and winning the line of scrimmage. With 4 Pro Bowlers along the offensive and defensive lines, a pair of proven 1,000-yard runners in the backfield and an aggressive defense with a nose for the ball, the Vikings enter 2008 with a strong nucleus of experienced talent. In the 3rd season under Childress’ leadership the team has made steady improvement and are poised to build on a solid foundation. The offseason addition of 2007 NFL sack leader and All-Pro DE Jared Allen via trade with Kansas City and free agent starters WR Bernard Berrian and S Madieu Williams fill positions with veteran playmakers.
The 2008 season marks Childress’ 31st in coaching and his 11th on an NFL sideline. During his previous 30 seasons at the collegiate and professional ranks Childress has been a part of teams with .500 or better records 18 times and has a combined record of 219-174-8 including playoffs and bowl action.
WINNING UP FRONT
The Vikings have evolved under Childress as a team that controls the line of scrimmage with a physical style. The 2007 Vikings became the 1st team in franchise history to rank #1 in the NFL in rushing offense and rushing defense. The duos of Steve Hutchinson and Matt Birk on offense joined by Kevin Williams and Pat Williams on defense have all made back-to-back Pro Bowl trips in 2006 and 2007. The Vikings offense in 2007 set franchise records by rushing for 2,634 yards (164.6 per game) with rookie phenom Adrian Peterson leading with way with an NFC-best 1,341 yards.
Defensively, the Williams tandem shut down the run better than anyone in the NFL. The Vikings posted the #1 rush defense in the NFL in 2006 and 2007. Over the past 2 seasons, the Vikings have stifled opponents by allowing 67.9 yards per game, 2.9 yards per carry and 0.5 rushing TDs per game over those 32 contests. Behind the rugged DTs, the Vikings have an emerging trio of LBs who have a knack for the big play and ball-hawking DBs. The 2007 Vikings tied a franchise record by scoring 6 TDs on interception returns and 2 more on fumble returns. The Vikings’ 13 defensive TDs (9 INTs, 4 FRs) since 2006 lead the NFL and are 5 more than the runner-up Packers’ 8. Pro Bowl S Darren Sharper has snared 53 career interceptions to rank among the all-time NFL leaders.
Peterson is joined in the backfield by RB Chester Taylor, who ran for 1,216 yards for the Vikings in 2006, and newly-acquired free agent FB Thomas Tapeh from Philadelphia. Peterson and Taylor set a Vikings record for rushing yards by a tandem with 2,185 yards. In 2007, QB Tarvaris Jackson posted an 8-4 record as a starter in his 1st season with the full-time job and rallied the team on a 5-game win streak in November and December to put the team in playoff contention.
IDENTIFYING AND DEVELOPING TALENT
The Vikings have made the most of their drafts in the past 2 seasons. The Vikings have drafted 11 players in rounds 1-5 during the 2006 and 2007 drafts and have had 10 of those players crack the starting lineup. The lone player not to start, WR Aundrae Allison, set Vikings records with a 28.7 average on kickoff returns in 2007 and notched the longest play in team history with a 104-yard kickoff return TD vs. Detroit. The 2007 draft class landed both Peterson and 5th-round DE Brian Robison on the All-Rookie team.
Acquiring players through free agency and the organizational commitment to improving the talent level allowed Hutchinson to join the team in 2006 in a free agent group that included Taylor, LB Ben Leber and K Ryan Longwell.
The Vikings coaching staff has a talent for developing players and taking advantage of their talents. The team has 5 assistant coaches on staff who have played in the NFL and overall have a staff with a wealth of experience on the sideline.
PROVEN SUCCESS WITH PHILADELPHIA
Childress joined the Vikings following a seven-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles, including the final four seasons as offensive coordinator. During his tenure in Philadelphia, the Eagles represented the NFC in Super Bowl XXXIX, amassed a 70-42 (.625) record in the regular season, won four straight NFC East titles from 2001-04 and advanced to the playoffs from 2000-04. During Childress’ time as offensive coordinator (2002-05), the Eagles were 43-21 in the regular season, the most wins in the NFC over that span. Since joining the Eagles in 1999, Childress’ teams had a 13-1 mark against NFC North teams including playoff wins over Chicago, Green Bay and Minnesota.
The Eagles offense under Childress was able to excel while adjusting to personnel transition and injuries. The team ranked in the NFL’s top 10 in total offense twice in those four seasons and assembled numerous individual achievements. In the four seasons Childress guided the offense, the team amassed 5,000+ yards each season, averaging 333.8 yards per game in that span. The Eagles offense from 2000-05 featured 7 players who have earned 14 berths in the Pro Bowl, highlighted by signal caller Donovan McNabb who has been honored with 5 berths in the all-star game. Joining McNabb in Hawaii over the span were TE Chad Lewis (3 times), T Tra Thomas (2), G Jermane Mayberry (1), T Jon Runyan (1), WR Terrell Owens (1) and RB Brian Westbrook (1).
Childress worked with McNabb since his rookie season in 1999 when he signed on as the Eagles QB coach. McNabb has emerged as one of the top QBs in the NFL during the past seven seasons and established an NFL record in 2004 as the 1st QB to throw for 30+ TDs and less than 10 interceptions. The Eagles offense set franchise records in several areas in the 2004 run to Super Bowl XXXIX, including team passer rating (96.4), completion percentage (61.4%) and gross passing yardage (4,208). In 2000 McNabb was runner-up in the Associated Press MVP voting.
The Eagles improvement during Childress’ tenure was remarkable as the team went 5-11 in the Andy Reid staff’s first season in 1999. A year later the 2000 Eagles won the first playoff game in eight seasons for the franchise. The 2001 team that won the NFC East was the first division title for the Eagles since 1988 and the 2004 team that won 13 regular season games en route to the NFC title set the franchise record for wins.
COLLEGIATE PROGRAM BUILDING
Before joining Reid’s Eagles staff in January 1999, Childress tutored the University of Wisconsin as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks and running backs coach from 1991-98. During his tenure in Madison the Badgers played in five bowl games, highlighted by Rose Bowl wins over UCLA in 1994 and 1998. The 1993 squad set a school record and ranked 4th in Big Ten history by averaging 455.2 yards per game. Childress guided Badgers RB Ron Dayne through his junior season and helped him become the first collegiate player to rush for over 7,000 career yards and go on to win the Heisman Trophy. While tutoring the UW offense, Childress guided some of the top performers in school history. Ron Dayne (1st-7,125 yards), Brent Moss (4th-3,428 yards) and Terrell Fletcher (5th-3,414) all rank among the career rushing leaders while QB Darrell Bevell left as the top passer in school history (7,686 yards) and Mike Samuel ranks 4th (4,989 yards). Three of the top five receivers in UW annals were under Childress’ instruction as Chris Chambers (3rd-2,004 yards), Tony Simmons (4th-1,991 yards) and Lee DeRamus (5th-1,974 yards) all made their mark on the Big Ten during their careers.
The Badgers climbed out of the cellar of the Big Ten prior to Childress arriving on campus. The 1990 club struggled through a 1-10 season before Childress came aboard in 1991 and helped the team to a 59-32-4 mark over the next eight seasons and a 4-1 mark in bowl games. The 1993 team tied for the Big Ten title at 10-1-1 and went to the Rose Bowl, the first conference championship and Rose Bowl appearance since 1963. The 1998 squad, Childress’ last with the Badgers, topped UCLA 38-31 in the Rose Bowl. Along with Dayne, Childress oversaw UW standouts Brent Moss as he won the 1993 Big Ten MVP and conference Offensive Player of the Year. Dayne took home the 1996 Big Ten Rookie of the Year hardware.
Prior to joining the Wisconsin staff, Childress was wide receivers coach at Utah in 1990 and offensive coordinator at Northern Arizona from 1986-89. The coaching staff at NAU included future NFL head coaches Andy Reid, Bill Callahan and Marty Mornhinweg. Reid, Childress and Mornhinweg were later reunited with the Eagles.
Childress’ first taste of NFL coaching came as quarterbacks/quality control coach of the 1985 Indianapolis Colts. His coaching career began at Illinois from 1978-84 where he began as a graduate assistant before coaching the Illini RBs and WRs.
Childress and wife, Dru-Ann, have four children- Cara, Kyle, Andrew and Christopher. Born 6/27/56 and raised in Aurora, IL, Childress attended Marmion Academy. Childress briefly played QB and WR at Illinois before graduating from Eastern Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. In 2008 Childress was recognized by his alma mater with the Marmion Centurion Award, the highest honor bestowed on Marmion alumni for execptional achievement in their chosen field.