McCombs: Tice will be back as Vikings' coach

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -- Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs' silence led many people, including Mike Tice himself, to believe he was about to fire the head coach.

But after waiting two days, McCombs said Tice would return next season and wondered what all the fuss was about.

A relieved Tice began his offseason planning in earnest while continuing to commiserate with his assistants over what could've been.

McCombs, on a conference call Tuesday, insisted he never had thoughts of replacing Tice -- or anyone else on staff.

A 3-7 finish by the Vikings, including an unfathomable fourth-quarter failure in an 18-17 defeat at Arizona on Sunday that kept them out of the playoffs, prompted speculation Tice could be fired.

Not so, said McCombs from his San Antonio office, a day after staying suspiciously mum on the subject.

"I don't know where all the smoke is coming from," said the owner, who more than once this season voiced his confidence in Tice's performance. "It's not coming from me."

There were also thoughts that McCombs would shake up the front office, but he said he liked the way it's structured to share personnel decisions among several department heads and he had no thoughts about hiring a general manager.

Tice, hired in January 2002 to replace Dennis Green, is a financial bargain for McCombs, with one year left at about $650,000 -- plus a team option for 2005. The Vikings went 6-10 in his first season, winning their final three games, then started this season with six straight victories.

"I think we're very close to being a very good football team," Tice said.

The fast start raised expectations considerably, which made a disappointing finish and the crushing defeat to the Cardinals on the game's final play that much harder for everyone in the organization to take.

"Since Sunday night, I've been dividing my time between my crying towel and my cussing rag," McCombs said. "We didn't have in our plan talking about these things this week. There was no doubt in my mind the Vikings would be playing in the Super Bowl. That was how strongly I believed it."

McCombs even had a banner and other memorabilia made up to celebrate the NFC North title. The stuff never was shipped to Winter Park, the team's headquarters.

"There was no doubt in my mind we were moving past Arizona," McCombs said. "A lot of gears had to shift Sunday night and yesterday."

The Vikings were stung by losses to each of the four teams in the league that went 4-12: the New York Giants, San Diego, Oakland and Arizona.

Minnesota's 4-2 mark against teams that made the playoffs made the failures against lesser teams look even worse, and McCombs' reputation for impatience and rash decisions helped fuel speculation Tice could be in trouble.

"Good football teams beat teams that they should beat," said Tice, who admitted concern on Monday.

Players were a little worried, too.

"We're going to win it," quarterback Daunte Culpepper said after Sunday's game. "I want him to be the coach to win it."

Tice is putting together an analysis of the entire program for McCombs, and the two will discuss it in person as soon as it's completed -- just as they did last year.

McCombs said he wouldn't request Tice make any changes to his staff, though there is the possibility of some shuffling once Tice finds out his budget for assistant coaches.

At the very least, Tice will be interviewing candidates for a new defensive coordinator; George O'Leary has taken the head coaching job at Central Florida.

There appear to be several prime candidates, including the NFL's three most recently fired head coaches: Dick Jauron (Chicago), Gregg Williams (Buffalo) and Dave McGinnis (Arizona).

Former New York Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, fired Tuesday, probably will be in the mix. Tice likely won't make a decision until the week of the Senior Bowl in late January.