Dennis Green's death shook up the NFL world on Friday. Many of his former players and coaches paid homage to the coach who spent 17 years in the league.
One of the big names under Green's coaching umbrella was Brian Billick. Billick, who won Super Bowl XXXV with the Ravens, joined NFL Network on Friday and reminisced about some of his fond memories when he was on Green's staff with the Minnesota Vikings.
"It"s shocking and obviously a huge loss for all of us personally (and) professionally," Billick said. "I can't imagine having had whatever successes I had in the profession, being where I am now, if it weren't for Denny Green."
Billick spent seven seasons with the Vikings and five as the team's offensive coordinator. During his time in Minnesota, Billick expressed gratitude for Green's trust in his assistant coaches.
"Denny hired good people and he let them do their job. Particularly in that '98 year. Obviously with all the great talent we had, I was fortunate enough to be associated with it," Billick remembered. "Make no mistake, Denny Green had an excellent offensive mind. But Denny let his coaches coach."
Green, head coach of the Vikings and Arizona Cardinals, ranks 33rd on the NFL's all-time wins list with 113. He became just the second African American head coach in the NFL's modern era when Minnesota hired him in 1992. The former coach is best known for being at the helm of the '98 Vikings, widely considered one of best teams to not win a Super Bowl.
The sum of Green's career should garner serious Hall of Fame consideration, regardless if he never won a Super Bowl. Billick expressed those same sentiments on Friday.
"We're a league of outcomes, of results. The fact that he wasn't able to go on and win a Super Bowl that seems to be the legacy that we carry around as coaches in the NFL. But I don't know that anybody could look at the body of work that Denny Green had," Billick explained. "Going to programs, each was dramatically -- whether it was Northwestern, Stanford, whether going into Minnesota, even on into Arizona -- in terms of how much better they were from Denny Green having been there. And I'm through the grace of God as one of those coaches that's been allowed to win a Super Bowl as a head coach. I just hope when the time comes that my body of work can measure up to in totality to that of Denny Green."
Heartfelt words coming from a coach who has a Super Bowl ring, speaking of the legacy and contributions of Green.
