Even as Minnesota coach Brad Childress was getting what he desperately wanted, he couldn’t help but further undermine himself in the eyes of his players.
On Tuesday, as Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson(notes), defensive end Jared Allen(notes) and kicker Ryan Longwell(notes) were flying back and forth between Minnesota and Mississippi to bring quarterback Brett Favre(notes) back for another season, Childress tried to cover up a fact that was widely reported. Childress, who wasn’t scheduled to talk to media Tuesday, had special teams coach Brian Murphy and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell tell reporters that the three players were actually at the team facility rather than aboard a private jet.
Murphy went so far as to say that Longwell was kicking inside the team’s indoor facility. “We were kicking inside,” Murphy said. When asked directly if Longwell was at practice, Murphy said: “He was here, he was around.”
Bevell couldn’t quite go along with the charade, pushing the explanation on Childress.
“I came out here and [Childress] told me he had the other guys inside,” Bevell said, referring to the three players. “They were in the building. I came out to practice, Coach said they were inside.”
That little bit of misdirection didn’t get much attention, but it raised a lot of eyebrows inside the Vikings’ locker room.
“Chilly can’t even tell the truth about that,” the player said. “I mean, how ridiculous is that? What’s the big deal that he has to lie? Worse, he has to tell other guys to lie for him?”
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