in their words

"My first love is the Vikings. My second love is the expansion of American football internationally. I've been running my first love for 17 years, and we have talked about the possibility of changing and doing something different." -- Mike Lynn on his resignation in October 1990

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"I guess that's going to be the legacy. I'm going to have to live with that, but I'll live with it." -- Lynn on the Herschel Walker trade, regarded as one of the biggest busts in NFL history

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"Mike Lynn tried to intimidate the hell out of me I don't know how many times. ... If I hadn't had 38 years of experience, nobody would have taken the abuse I took from Mike Lynn." -- Sports agent Bob Woolf, on Lynn's tough negotiating style

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"RIP Mike Lynn. Few, if any, front office execs in Minn. sports history were more bold, colorful or controversial." -- Dave St. Peter, Twins president, on Twitter

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"The Vikings are deeply saddened by the passing of Mike Lynn. He was instrumental in the success of the Vikings for many years." -- Vikings statement on Lynn's death Saturday