Brad Childress might have been oblivious to fans chanting for him to be fired Sunday in the Metrodome, but when thousands of people call for your dismissal in unison, it's hard to remain oblivious for long.

Thus a day after his team beat Detroit 12-10 to move into a first-place tie with Green Bay and Chicago in the NFC North, the Vikings coach spent much of his Monday news conference answering questions about the jeers.

"It's driven somehow or other," he said of the anger. "Whether it's early on here or [a lack of] early success, but that's their prerogative. They are becoming more like Philadelphia fans I suppose. A little bit more mean-spirited. But, like I said, I don't ever hear the boos or the [cheers]. I know when the crowd is loud, obviously, because it impacts us or it impacts the other team. But I'm always worried about the bottom line."

The bottom line Sunday was the ticket-paying public was far from pleased with what they were seeing. Thirteen-point favorites to beat the winless Lions, the Vikings' offense sputtered on several occasions and the team had to rally to win on a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell with nine seconds left.

The fans booed the Vikings off the field at halftime with Detroit holding a 3-2 lead. In the second half, the public began chants of "Fire Childress." Fans expressed frustration with Childress before -- the fact his offense is deemed to be unimaginative has been a point of contention since he arrived in 2006 -- but this was the first time so many joined together to call for his ouster.

Childress said after the game that he did not hear the chants, but he isn't winning any popularity polls. Childress is last among NFL coaches with an 8 percent approval rating from fans in ESPN.com's weekly rankings.

"I just kind of look at the results," Childress said of the displeasure being expressed. "We're a 3-3 football team. I know that goes with my position. Fans live it and die it every play. So, that's part of their prerogative -- to call for different plays or call for what they think are bonehead coaching moves or guys not catching the football. That's been around since coaching has been coaching, but it's always the body of work. You always get judged at the end of the year. I can't afford to pay a lot of attention to it."

The Vikings are certainly a team with deficiencies -- turnovers, penalties and sacks were among the mistakes that hurt them Sunday -- but they also have won their past two games. A victory Sunday in Chicago would put the Vikings a game above .500 entering their bye week.

The Vikings' next home game will be Nov. 2 against Houston. Many players defended Childress after Sunday's victory, and obviously creating an adversarial relationship with the home crowd isn't his goal.

"I think the players hear the cheers; not sure if they hear the boos," Childress said. "I imagine they do at times when they are sitting on the bench. Remember, it's a work environment for us, it's an entertainment [environment] for the fans, and the closest way to be interactive and not being out on the field is to cheer or to boo. They have that right. As long as they are not going to throw a battery at somebody."

While there is no indication Childress is in trouble with ownership, Zygi Wilf has been put into an interesting position. Wilf is hoping to get approval for a stadium in the next legislative session and ignoring the public might not be the best idea at this point. Wilf watched Sunday's game from a Metrodome suite and certainly heard the jeers, but he had a smile on his face as he departed the Vikings locker room after the game. Wilf declined to comment through a team spokesman Monday.

Childress, meanwhile, isn't in uncharted waters. While he might have never felt the wrath of a fan base prior to Sunday, he was the offensive coordinator for Andy Reid in Philadelphia before joining the Vikings. Safe to say, Philadelphia fans can be a bit more harsh than those in Minnesota.

"It's funny because I can remember Andy and his chief of security walking off [the field], and I obviously can't tell you any of the things that were said because they are not printable," Childress said. "But they used to have a running joke [about] 'What's the worst thing somebody has to say today?' And that would be walking on and off the field for the pre-game warmups. God forbid a loss.

"That was absolutely maybe some of the most vulgar things that you've heard in your life. But it's amusing. It's what we do, though. You can't take it personally. I have problems when they boo our team, but that's their prerogative. They pay a lot of money to get into that game and, if that's what you're there for, as opposed to supporting your team, that's up to them."