The Mike Tice Situation: A Great One for the Vikings

Written by Dr Furious on January 16, 2005

Red McCombs had a real no-brainer on his hands folks. He kept us all in suspense for an entire year. I’m sure McCombs put a lot of thought into the situation, while he drank lots of expensive scotch and traveled around the world on “business” trips. Maybe McCombs finally decided to call a meeting, to go over the books with his accountant and the CFO of the Minnesota Vikings. During the meeting, he probably rediscovered what everyone already knew. By extending Tice’s contract, he would only have to pay him one million dollars. ONE MILLION DOLLARS ... are you kidding? There might be special teams coaches that make more than that.

Well Red McCombs ended the suspense, the intrigue and the rumors when he announced that the Vikings would exercise Tice’s extension for the 2005-06 season. It was a win-win situation for McCombs. The one million dollars that Tice will earn for the upcoming season places him in a tie for the lowest salary among head coaches. McCombs has purchased himself a year of insurance, and the price was cheap. McCombs has already started to avoid talks about Tice’s long-term situation with the organization, and he will not have to make a decision until the end of next season. Unless the Vikings win the Superbowl this year, McCombs’ decision will be simple and based solely on performance. If the Vikings suck next year, Tice is gone. If they sneak into the playoffs next year, after another late-season slide, Tice is gone. If the Vikings win the division and do not suffer said late-season slide, Tice will get the big payday he has been looking for. In the meantime, McCombs can wait a year and sip some more expensive scotch.

Doc Fury’s rant

Now this wouldn’t be an article by Dr. Furious if it didn’t include a rant, so here we go. Where the hell does Mike Tice get off complaining about the amount of money he makes? I don’t care if you are the one of the lowest paid coaches in the league, you still made $750K in one damn year. It would take me 22 and one half years to make the same amount of money, so my recommendation to Tice is a nice, tall glass of settle down soda. With the job he’s done, Tice is lucky he is getting paid that much. Two years ago, the Vikings started with a record of 6-0, and failed to make the playoffs. If Carolina had beaten the Saints at home this year, the Vikings would have found themselves in a familiar place this postseason: watching football on the couch like the rest of us. The Vikings did not take care of business and backed into the playoffs after a 5-1 start to the season this year. Tice should have gotten paid less for the job he’s done over the past two years, and I don’t care whether the players love playing for him or not.

I’m sorry, but I’m so sick of people whining about contacts and constantly bitching about not being paid enough. What happened to the good old days when all this stuff stayed in-house, and the media wasn’t involved? If you are an athlete or a coach, and you have a gripe about how much you make, do me a favor and take a good, long look at your production. If the shit surrounding your eyes clouds your vision, then consult a friend; not a groupie, wife, fiancé, hanger-on, or agent, but a real true who’s going to shoot you straight. If you don’t know anyone who fits this description, then give Dr. Furious a call. I will have absolutely no problem evaluating your situation. If you suck, I will not hesitate to let you know. If your complaints about the situation have some merit, I will let you know this as well. Do not go straight to the media complaining about your contract when your team can’t win a game during the stretch run of each season and you’ve just won your first playoff game after backing into the postseason. Furthermore, the Vikings just exited teh playoffs today in the second round. These are not indicators of a coach who should be paid more, so stop bitching and get your team to win some damn games.

Red McCombs’ actions indicate that he is a smart man. He gave himself an extra year to sort this whole mess out. If I were McCombs, I would be interviewing head coaching candidates right now. This will save him a lot of time, trouble, and aggravation when the perennial late-season slide occurs next year, and it is certain that Tice will not return.

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-- Written by Dr Furious on January 16, 2005