Vikings fire head coach after last win

To no great surprise, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf informed head coach Mike Tice that his contract would not be renewed yesterday, immediately after the Vikings beat the Bears:

After insisting that he wanted to know his fate "sooner than later," Tice was told by owner Zygi Wilf after the Vikings' 34-10 victory Sunday over the Chicago Bears that his contract would not be renewed.

Tice and his staff were puzzled by ownership's sudden decision to announce his dismissal less than an hour after the Vikings won their 2005 season finale at the Metrodome to finish 9-7. Tice had expected to learn his fate at a meeting scheduled for 8 a.m. today with Wilf and team President Mark Wilf.

"I didn't get a chance to savor the victory for very long, I'll tell you that," Tice said. "But I've been the one saying sooner than later, so I guess he took that as, `As soon as possible,' ASAP."

The bizarre New Year's Day was in character for the Vikings of 2005, whose off-the-field exploits grabbed national attention.

I'm sorry to see Tice go, but in no way is this a surprise: the new owners probably already had a plan for a new head coach, regardless of how well or how poorly Tice did this season. They took over the ownership too close to the start of the regular season to completely revamp the coaching staff (although in hindsight, that's less obvious than it seemed at the time).

I doubt that anyone will give Tice a shot at a head coaching position in the near future, but he should still be employed in the league next season.