How many times have we seen owners back their coaching staffs, only to fire them 1-2 weeks later? Zygi Wilf delivered the Owner's Kiss of Death on Tuesday by declaring that Tice's job is not in jeopardy.
I think everyone on the planet knows better than that. If you go to the deepest jungle of South America and ask local tribesman Higjtkket Blumph if Tice is safe, he would reply "Tice? Hell no! He's a goner!"
Of course, Tice could still turn this around. And, to be fair, two weeks is just not enough to make the final judgment. But another week or two of this kind of offensive performance (that can be read two ways, and they're both correct), and Tice will seal his fate. On the other hand, if the Vikings play up to their talent level and reel off a couple of W's, Tice could escape the pink slip again.
There are many problems for the Vikes. Losing Randy Moss is a tiny part of that. Moss went to the Raiders and people out there made their Super Bowl reservations. They are now 0-2, same as the Vikings, and headed nowhere. So don't tell me losing Moss is the cause of this debacle.
The cause is losing Matt Birk, and replacing OC Linehan with Steve Loney. Loney had little resume for this role, and only the cheap, bottom-line mentality of Red McCombs and Mike Tice allowed him to move into that role.
Loney did not exactly make the right call in benching Michael Bennett after his 2 fumbles in Cincy. Bennett is a veteran player that knows when he makes a mistake. The right call was to let him back in immediately and give him a couple more carries. Taking out the RB who had your only positive yards in the game at that point was a horrible decision. And I doubt it won over any of the offensive players.
Many people are also pointing out the defensive deficiencies. But, when you have this many new faces on defense, it is going to take time to gel. And if you leave that defense on the field for almost 40 minutes, they are going to get tired and give up some scores.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for Minnesota. The Saints come to town with the league's best road record, then the Vikes travel to Atlanta and Chicago with a bye in between. If they come out of this 0-5, a very real possibility, Tice is gone, no matter what.
The most disappointing thing about the bad start is the complete lack of mental toughness the Vikings are displaying. And that is the responsibility of the coaching staff.
So Tice has about 3 weeks to turn things around. If the Vikes win 2 of the next 3, Tice will probably survive the season. If it's 0-5, Tice's fate is sealed.
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