Bud Grant - # 301

Bud Grant, who led Vikings to 4 Super Bowls in HOF career, dies

 

He was 301 on the list.

Bud Grant, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowl appearances, has died at the age of 95, the Vikings announced Saturday.

In Grant's 28 seasons as a head coach in Canada and with the Vikings, his teams reached the playoffs 20 times, played in 10 championship games and won four titles. However, none of those titles came in the NFL, as he became the first coach to lose four Super Bowls.

Grant was the first person to be inducted into both the CFL Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He had a career regular-season record of 158-96-5 in the NFL and 102-56-2 in the CFL and went a combined 26-20-1 in the postseason between the two leagues.

"No single individual more defined the Minnesota Vikings than Bud Grant," Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf and their family said in a statement. "A once-in-a lifetime man, Bud will forever be synonymous with success, toughness, the north and the Vikings."

Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter remembered Grant for his continued connection to the Hall "well into his 90s."

"There are so many adjectives appropriate to describe Coach Bud Grant: legendary, determined, successful," Porter said in a statement. "Underneath his outwardly stoic demeanor that some misunderstood as a coldness laid the warm heart of a man who truly loved his players and the sport of football."

Born Harry Peter Grant Jr., Grant joined the Navy during World War II after graduating from high school in Superior, Wisconsin. At Naval Station Great Lakes near Chicago, Grant played on a football team coached by Paul Brown, who would become one of the NFL's greatest coaches.

Grant later attended Minnesota, where he won nine letters in three sports (football, basketball, baseball) before being drafted by the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers and the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. He chose basketball at first and was a member of the Lakers' 1949-50 championship team.

"I am so saddened by today's news. Before joining the Vikings, I had long known the legacy of Bud Grant, the Minnesota icon who carried himself with class and integrity. From afar, I admired his impact on the Vikings franchise and the NFL," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said in a statement. "And then I got here, and Bud was one of the first people to warmly greet me when I walked through the doors of this facility. I didn't realize at the time I would be so blessed to build a close friendship with him over the next year."

After two NBA seasons, during which he averaged 2.6 points, Grant changed sports and played both sides of the ball for two seasons with the Eagles. He caught 56 passes for 997 yards and seven touchdowns in 1952, then left to play for the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

He learned early about the coaching business after enlisting in 1945, and played on a team at the Great Lakes naval station outside Chicago run by Paul Brown, who would go on to a Hall of Fame career as an NFL coach, executive and owner.

He was one of the CFL's top receivers for four seasons, making such an impression with his on-field adjustments that he was offered the head-coaching position in 1957. It was a smart move by the Blue Bombers, who would advance to six Grey Cups -- winning four -- in Grant's 10 seasons as coach.

"He impacted so many lives on and off the field," CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie tweeted. "What he accomplished in his playing and coaching career was legendary and inspiring."

In 1967, the Vikings lured Grant back to Minnesota, where his calm demeanor and purple baseball cap would be a fixture on the sideline for 18 of the next 19 seasons. The Vikings hadn't reached the playoffs and had finished above .500 only once since they joined the NFL in 1961. They went 3-8-3 in Grant's first season -- and then everything changed.

"I am so fortunate to have been able to spend the last year getting to know Bud Grant. He was one of the most innovative, talented and wise people in the history of the NFL," Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said in a statement. "His commitment to diversity, while not talked about enough, was ahead of his time and provided so much opportunity for others. His amazing life was one of a kind, being a multi-sport athlete at his beloved University of Minnesota, getting drafted in both the NFL and the NBA, playing in both leagues and ultimately becoming a hall of fame head coach in both the CFL and NFL. What's truly inspiring is that he accomplished all of that while also being committed to his family and to helping others."

After replacing another Hall of Famer, Norm Van Brocklin, Grant assembled the revered defensive line dubbed the Purple People Eaters.

The Vikings went 8-6 in 1968 to win the division and make their first playoff appearance. In 1969, they won the NFL championship and advanced to Super Bowl IV, which they lost 23-7 to the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs. It was the first of what would be many near misses for Grant.

Starting in 1973, the Vikings went to the Super Bowl three times in four years, but each time, they came up short. Minnesota reached the NFC Championship Game in 1977, but that turned out to be Grant's last good chance. He took the Vikings to the playoffs two more times but never advanced beyond the second round again.

Grant retired after the 1983 season but made a one-year return in 1985 after the Vikings had gone 3-13 under Les Steckel. When Grant was finished for good, only seven coaches had won more games.

"We cherished the times we had together, listening to his tremendous stories and soaking up his knowledge of the game," the Wilfs said in their statement. "Most importantly, we are thankful we were able to get to know Bud on a personal level and see first-hand his love for his family. We join members of the Vikings organization, the generation of players Bud impacted, the people of Minnesota and the entire NFL in mourning this monumental loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bud's family and friends in this difficult time."

Bud married Pat (née Patricia Nelson; born March 28, 1927) in 1950, and they had six children (Kathy, Laurie, Peter, Mike, Bruce, and Danny). Bruce died July 25, 2018, from brain cancer. Their son Mike Grant started coaching in 1979 at Minnetonka HS, then became the Forest Lake head coach from 1981 to 1986 and 1989 to 1991. Mike served as the Saint John's (Minnesota) offensive coach in 1987 and 1988. Mike has been the football head coach for Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota since 1992.

In 1983, Grant was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and in 1994, he would be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame by Sid Hartman, who was by then a senior Minnesota sports columnist.

In his second year, Grant led the team to a divisional championship and his first NFL playoffs appearance. In 1969, he led the team to its first NFL Championship and their first appearance in the Super Bowl. The Vikings lost in Super Bowl IV to the American Football League champion Kansas City Chiefs. Prior to the 1970 season, Minnesota released Joe Kapp. After starting Gary Cuozzo at quarterback in 1970 and 1971, the Vikings re-acquired Fran Tarkenton prior to the 1972 season. During the 1970s, the Vikings appeared in three more Super Bowls (VIII, IX, and XI) under Grant and lost each one, but he was the first coach to lead a team to four Super Bowl appearances. He retired after the 1983 NFL season and was succeeded by Les Steckel, who led the team to a 3–13 record the following season. Steckel was fired as head coach after the 1984 season and Grant returned as coach for the Vikings in 1985. After one season where he returned the club to a 7–9 record, he stepped down again. Grant retired as the eighth most successful coach in NFL history with an overall record of 161 wins, 99 losses, and 5 ties. As of 2021, he also remains the most successful coach in Vikings history. During his tenure with the Vikings, he led the Vikings to four Super Bowl games, 11 division titles, one league championship, and three NFC championships.

Grant was the first coach to lead his teams to both a Grey Cup and a Super Bowl, with the only other one being Marv Levy. He was a mainstay among coaches of his era, a decorated group that included Don Shula, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, John Madden and Hank Stram.

With such stars as Fran Tarkenton, Carl Eller, Alan Page, Paul Krause, Mick Tingelhoff and Ron Yary — all Pro Football Hall of Famers — Grant led the Vikings to 10 Central Division crowns in 11 seasons. He alos had great players such as Sammy White, Chuck Foreman, Tommy Kramer, Ahmad Rashad, Scott Studwell, Jim Marshall, Wally Hilgenberg, Fred Cox, Chris Doleman, Steve Bono, Wade Wilson, Leo Lewis, Steve Jordan, Mike Mularkey, Doug Martin, Keith Millard, Tim Irwin, Kirk Lowdermilk, Joey Browner, Ted Brown, Jan Stenerud, Fred McNeill, Bill Brown, and Grady Alderman.

Disciplined to the core and insisting on sharp mental focus, Grant went so far as to have his players practice standing at attention during the national anthem.

He infamously took the Vikings outdoors in the frigid winter for workouts and banned sideline heaters during games at Metropolitan Stadium.

On Jan. 10, 2016, when the Vikings staged the coldest game in franchise history in the first round of the playoffs against Seattle, at the university’s outdoor stadium while their building was being built, Grant served as an honorary captain.

He strolled out for the pregame coin flip in a Vikings cap and a purple short-sleeved polo shirt, looking ready for a round of golf in defiance of temperatures of minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit and minus 25 with the wind chill.

 

Coaching tree

As of 2020, seven of Grant's assistants have become head coaches, and one has won the Super Bowl.

Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks (2010–present), New England Patriots (1997–1999), New York Jets (1994)

Marc Trestman, Chicago Bears (2013–2014), Canadian Football League, Montreal Alouettes (2008–2012), Toronto Argonauts (2017–2018)

Jerry Burns, Minnesota Vikings (1986–1991)

Les Steckel, Minnesota Vikings (1984)

Neill Armstrong, Chicago Bears (1977–1981)

Jack Patera, Seattle Seahawks (1976–1982)

Bob Hollway, St. Louis Cardinals (1971–1972)