OT rule change caught Childress by surprise

ORLANDO -- Vikings coach Brad Childress was on the golf course Tuesday afternoon at the Ritz-Carlton complex when he got some surprising news. The proposal to change the league's overtime rule for the playoffs had been passed by a 28-4 margin by owners.

The fact it passed might not have been a shock but what caught Childress and the other coaches off guard was that the vote had been taken on Tuesday. It was expected that owners would make their decision Wednesday on the final day of their league meetings.

"I would characterize it as surprised to be e-mailed or texted on the golf course," Childress said of his reaction when asked during the NFC coaches breakfast Wednesday morning. "Our understanding was we were going to come back and talk about it more [Wednesday], which we will. The word transparency comes to mind."

Childress arrived at the NFL meetings on Sunday saying he was straddling the fence on the rule change, which will call for a team to get an overtime possession in the playoffs if the club that wins the opening toss kicks a field goal. A touchdown by the team with the opening possession will end the game.

Childress did not express any disgust with the change -- Saints coach Sean Payton remained fired up about the decision on Wednesday -- but it was clear the Vikings coach was annoyed by the fact the vote was taken about 24 hours earlier than expected. Childress referenced a quote by John Mara in which the Giants co-owner referred to getting the vote done "before the coaches and everybody else can come in here and screw it up."

Said Childress: "I'd say that would probably suffice for what [the owners] sentiment was."

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf was one of the four who voted against the change. Wilf said he got up in front of the owners and stated his case. "I thought Zygi did a great job with his presentation in front of the owners and was told so by a few different owners," Childress said. "All you can do is take a swing. I think the most important thing is that if it's the rules then we're all playing by those rules. That's the big thing. You just have to know what they are to be able to practice them and deal with those eventualities."

"I think it's the old analogy that a soldier should never do anything for the first time in combat," Childresss said. "I wouldn't want to be experiencing that for the first time mindset-wise for my guys [in the postseason]. The elation of, 'We won it. No, we didn't win it because we've got to keep playing here.' You can explain it, explain it, explain it but once again you have to practice things whether it's a two-minute drill or come-from-behind or go 80 yards or red zone. It's got to be examined. I think probably there's some unforeseeable unknowns in the rules. What ifs?" NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made no apologies about the fact the rule was passed before anyone expected. "A lot of owners felt that they heard the debate and that they felt this was important to them," Goodell said at a news conference Wednesday. "They felt it was important to the game and to the fans and that we had come to a resolution. There were clearly enough votes for it yesterday and that we should go ahead [and vote]. Plus, there were a few owners that weren't able to be here today. I think when we come to a resolution we take a vote and move on." Childress' fielded a variety of questions during his hour-long sitdown with reporters Wednesday morning. Here are a few other subjects he touched upon: -- On whether the Vikings have interest in free-agent running back Brian Westbrook: "You know, good player. A lot of admiration and respect. I don't know if we're far enough down the free-agent trail here now. He's certainly a guy that's on our board and on our list, as are others. Is there interest? Not right this second. Do I know of him and his skills and abilities? Absolutely. And I have a lot of admiration for what he has been able to do." -- If there is interest in Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who might be on the trading block: "Not as of right now. I'm not going to tell you that we won't add another quarterback to our roster or another two quarterbacks to our roster depending on which quarterback shows up and which doesn't. Or which couple or three show up and which don't. That's all down-the-road stuff." -- On the recovery process of cornerback Cedric Griffin, who tore his ACL on the opening kickoff of overtime in the NFC title game: "As far as I can tell [it's going] just fine. He grinds on it every day. There's a point in here where, I'm told, that on an ACL injury, you feel stronger than you really are. And there's a point where that graft or whatever it is that they do becomes brittle. And you have to be really careful in your third, fourth, fifth month that you're not doing what your body feels like it can do. You have to stick with the protocol. I guess it becomes brittle and it strengthens back up. It's the strongest early and it goes to a spot where…. He's doing as good as he can be doing." -- On the recovery process of linebacker E.J. Henderson, who broke his leg in a December loss at Arizona: "Nothing is going to surprise me with E.J. because he's taken and embraced this thing. Talking to him and the people that he's talked to with a similar injury he wants to set the E.J. Henderson protocol for this injury. Moving ahead, being ahead of the curve, doing the things he's done at this point of time. Everything I've seen, he's attacking it and he's moving in the right direction in a hurry." -- On wide receiver Percy Harvin and how he's doing after having issues with migraine headaches last season: "I have not heard anything further about Percy and his migraines. He or anybody else hasn't advertised to me that he's had some significant migraine problems here in the offseason. I'll probably see him here in another couple of weeks when I swing down that way." Odds and ends

-- Childress said he and his good friend Andy Reid have agreed to participate on the NFL-USO Coaches Tour to the Persian Gulf in late June.