The NFL gave approval to Red McCombs’ sale of the Vikings to Zygi Wilf and his family in May 2005. The Vikings were headed into the upcoming season with personnel director Frank Gilliam, administrator Rob Brzezinski and coach Mike Tice as the football decisionmakers.
McCombs had decided to go cheap in his final run as the owner, apparently to squeeze a few more million out of a sale that would bring an enormous profit.
The Vikings had traded receiver Randy Moss to Oakland in March 2005. They were tying the offensive wagon fully to quarterback Daunte Culpepper, just turned 28, coming off a phenomenal 2004 season.
McCombs’ cheapness had cost the Vikings and Culpepper the offensive coordinator, Scott Linehan, so integral to Daunte’s success. No Linehan, no Moss, not as much guaranteed money in Culpepper’s contract as he imagined … the 2005 season was a disaster for Daunte and ended with an injury in Game 7.
Brad Johnson came in and put the Vikings on a winning streak, although they missed the playoffs. There were other distractions that season, including hijinks on a watercraft.
Tice was fired by the Wilfs within a half-hour of the season finale.
Soon, Brad Childress was hired as head coach, with a solid degree of personnel power. Childress and his associates did a fine job of assembling future Hall of Famers.
March 2006: Landed guard Steve Hutchinson with a poison pill-filled, $49 million total, seven-year guaranteed contract — with no compensation for the Seattle Seahawks. Voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.