EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is defending his decision to fire head coach Mike Tice so soon after Minnesota's season finale.
Wilf told reporters it was a "tough decision," but he didn't want Tice to, in his words, "twist in the wind." So Wilf says the team's owners decided to inform Tice of their decision as soon as they could, which is something he had requested.
Tice was fired after the Vikings beat the Chicago Bears 34-to-10 at the Metrodome.
Wilf says now is the time to make a coaching change, and the Vikings are going in a new direction. He calls Tice a fine person, a fine coach and a good friend and thanked him for his 13 years of service to the Vikings, as a player, assistant and head coach.
Wilf says the team plans an accelerated search for a new coach, but he would not discuss possible candidates.
