USA Today
The Minnesota Vikings introduced on Sunday afternoon that legendary coach Bud Grant has handed away on the age of 95.
“We are completely devastated to announce legendary Minnesota Vikings head coach and Hall of Famer Bud Grant has handed away this morning at age 95,” the Vikings mentioned in a press release launched on Twitter. “We, like all Vikings and NFL followers, are shocked and saddened by this horrible information.”
Grant coached the Vikings for 18 seasons from 1967 via 1985, amassing a 158-96-5 regular-season report and a 10-12 report within the playoffs. The Vikings superior to the Super Bowl 4 instances throughout his tenure, although they ultimately misplaced every of these 4 video games. (The Vikings gained the ultimate NFL Championship Game in 1969, the season earlier than the AFL-NFL merger. They misplaced to the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.) The steward of the group identified for The Purple People Eaters, Grant coached a lot of future Hall of Famers together with Fran Tarkenton, Paul Krause, Alan Page, Carl Eller, Mick Tingelhoff, and Ron Yary.
Grant was a three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball, baseball) throughout his taking part in days, and was chosen in each the NFL and NBA Drafts.
He performed two years with the Minneapolis Lakers and was a member of the 1950 championship group. After the conclusion of these two seasons, Grant went again to his soccer profession. He performed two seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles, and in 1952, he caught 56 passes for 997 yards and 7 touchdowns. He adopted his NFL tenure with 4 seasons with the Winnepeg Blue Bomers of the Canadian Football League.
After ending his taking part in profession, Grant coached the Blue Bombers from 1957 via 1966, profitable 4 Grey Cups and a CFL Coach of the Year award earlier than changing into the top coach of the Vikings. A statue of him stands outdoors the Blue Bombers’ stadium. From 1986 via his loss of life in 2023, Grant was nonetheless listed as a marketing consultant for the Vikings, and maintained an workplace on the group’s facility. He is a member of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame, the Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.