New contract hasn't diverted Childress' focus

Perhaps if Brad Childress had received a new contract during the offseason he would have found time to celebrate. But when the Vikings coach arrived home Thursday night after signing an extension through the 2013 season he took little time to reflect on what had just happened.

"I talked to my wife for a couple of minutes, didn't even turn on the TV, got into bed, turned on Letterman and the next thing I knew, I was finished," Childress said.

A day after getting a deal that will supersede his current contract and pay him a reported $4 million to $5 million per season, Childress said his preference was to focus on Sunday's game against Seattle.

Childress did admit it was gratifying to receive text messages from a number of players, including former Vikings fullback Tony Richardson, Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. and Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, whom Childress coached when he was an assistant in Philadelphia.

"I shared it with the coaches yesterday morning and the players today that I understand they're where the rubber meets the road," Childress said. "I've got a tremendous staff and support group and a great group of guys that are fun to come to work with every day. I don't have any illusions ... players win games."

Hired in 2006 to change the culture around Winter Park, Childress didn't get off to the best start with his players. But that has changed.

"He's obviously gotten more comfortable in the role and his style I think has changed so much," said linebacker Ben Leber, who joined the Vikings as a free agent in 2006. "But it's been such a progression over the years that it hasn't been like one big jump. It's just been every year you can see him settling down and understanding the team better."

Childress' players clearly get to see a different side of their coach. On the Vikings' trip to Pittsburgh last month, Childress dressed up as a female flight attendant. Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe posted pictures on Twitter.

"I wanted to do that so that people could see he's not that guy that you guys see on interviews," Shiancoe said. "Just so monotone and serious all the time. He knows how to flip it on and off when appropriate. That's why I wanted to show you guys how different he could be."

One player who clearly has seen the difference is cornerback Antoine Winfield. Winfield and Childress initially clashed so much that Winfield stayed away from many offseason workouts in 2007.

"I love it," Winfield said of Childress getting an extension. "It's a great thing. If you look at our record, every year we've improved. Everyone loves playing under him. He's taken care of us, keeping us fresh for the games."

Childress said contract negotiations started "a long time ago" between his agent, Bob LaMonte, and Vikings owners. It did not hurt matters that the Vikings are now in first place in the NFC North with an 8-1 record behind quarterback Brett Favre. Childress gets much of the credit for persuading Favre to join the Vikings in mid-August.

Childress refused to speculate on how much Favre's presence helped him secure the new contract.

"You would have to ask somebody else about that, but that's just part of the job of trying to make the place better every day," Childress said. "That's what we're still trying to do."

Only Childress is now doing it in an environment in which he and his players seem very comfortable.

"You can wonder from time to time," Childress said when asked if he ever questioned himself. "When it doesn't manifest itself sometimes in terms of buy-in and wins. ... I just thought that it was important to do it my way. I can look myself in the mirror if they show me a door. It's the way that I wanted to do it. It's the way [the Wilfs] bought into doing it. I didn't feel like those things should get compromised.

"Good people that are good football players. That I think summarizes how we put it together here."

Staff Writer Chip Scoggins contributed to this report.