Matt Birk's decision to leave the Minnesota Vikings for the Baltimore Ravens marks the end of a long and positive relationship with his hometown team. The reasons for his decision most likely were not financially related, but had more to do with his desire to play for someone other than current Vikings head coach Brad Childress. And until Vikings ownership realizes that a head coach's function is to motivate his players to achieve at the highest level, we fans are going to be dealing with a mediocre product. Going into the fourth year of his dictatorial regime, Childress has achieved a record of wins only one better than that of his predecessor. This has been accomplished with a larger payroll, a much larger coaching staff and access to better training facilities. Fortunately, there is a solution to our current situation. Find a decent quarterback, a center half as good as Matt Birk and a coach who can actually coach and relate to his players. BOB ADAMS, PLYMOUTH