Council gives veteran players a voice

The rules weren't going to be bent, no matter how important the player.

When Adrian Peterson arrived late to a meeting last Saturday morning, the running back forfeited his right to start the following day's game at Jacksonville. The same went for starting cornerback Cedric Griffin.

Even though Vikings coach Brad Childress had no plans to waver from how he handles such matters, he also did not ignore the fact that others could be affected by the decision. Childress gathered his veteran leadership council to inform them of his plan.

"It was almost unanimous," Childress said of the reaction. "As soon as I said it [they said], 'You've got to be consistent.' It wasn't even, 'Oh no, not the best player on the team.'"

The players might not have been able to change Childress' mind, but at least they felt in the loop and, in this case they agreed.

"I think there has been a good give and take with the committee on certain things," said kicker Ryan Longwell, who is in his second season on the council. "There's things that as a coach you have to make the decision. Whether your players agree with it or not there are certain things that you need the pulse of the locker room. You kind of get some input that way."

Childress brought the idea of having a leadership council with him when he arrived from Philadelphia in 2006 after seven seasons as an assistant with the Eagles. The makeup of the group has changed each year, but the purpose has not. They are able to serve as a liaison for the locker room. Members this year include Jared Allen, Robert Ferguson, Gus Frerotte, Tarvaris Jackson, Steve Hutchinson, Jim Kleinsasser, Ben Leber, Chester Taylor, Antoine Winfield and Longwell.

Childress estimates he assembles the group once every two weeks. Issues range from sitting a player such as Peterson to how players are feeling late in the season to the minutiae of travel.

"It's not like it's a 50-minute meeting or anything like that," Childress said. "Sometimes it happens right out there on the field. ... Believe me, I don't see somebody every day about that."

In training camp, for instance, the group talked to Childress about being allowed to wear blue jeans on road trips instead of dress slacks. Childress acquiesced as long as players who wore blue jeans also wore a sport coat and collared shirt. Tennis shoes are still a no-no. A year before, having the team stretch as a group before games was scrapped in the preseason when players felt it wasn't effective.

Childress likes having the council because it not only gives him a better feeling for what is going on in the locker room but it also puts responsibility on players to police things. This is especially helpful when it comes to rookies or new players who might not be familiar with how the Vikings operate.

"We [live] in an, 'It's an all-good society,'" Childress said. "[Where], 'That's OK if this guy wants to smoke a little dope, that guy wants to drink and drive, that guy wants to tear it up and have a headache on Friday morning because it's the last day of practice on Thursday.' [It has to be], 'Hey, listen, pal, don't come in here like that. I don't want to smell alcohol on your breath.' Well, it's going to do way more with a peer saying it. Those guys are strong enough in who they are as people and as players, they're all at different stations of life [and can say], 'This is important and here's why it's important.'"

The council is diverse. Former Vikings safety Dwight Smith, who was ticketed by Minneapolis police for indecent conduct with a woman in a downtown stairwell in 2006 and definitely marched to his own drummer, was a member of the council last year. Ferguson hasn't been active for the past four games, and Jackson lost his job as the starting quarterback two games into the season.

"Every year I've changed up," Childress said. "[Each] position voted a guy and sent him to me. I just said it has to be somebody that can communicate, somebody that can stand up and say something, that doesn't have to take things hook, line and sinker if they disagree. You've got an issue, you can go through them to get to me. If you can't go through them, you can always get to me. But good teams have good internal [leadership] in the locker room so that if there is an issue, 'Hey, Coach, what about this?'"

Wide receiver Bobby Wade, who was on the committee last year, makes it clear that Childress has final say on things but seems to like the concept.

"It's a really good communication from what's going on upstairs, what he's thinking," Wade said. "It's kind of one of those deals where he's looking for opinions on things, but he's still the one who's coming up with the final say. It's not the players all by themselves deciding exactly what happens. Coach Childress is going to have final say on all that stuff. But it's good to talk about it and communicate."

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com