Fran Foley = Disgrace

[NastyNas]

NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY CULPEPPER WANTED TO LEAVE

WILL VIKES GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME?

The most pressing question in the wake of the Vikings' stunning-but-not-surprising decision to part ways with V.P. of player personnel Fran Foley is whether, given a new chance to hire a guy with "final say" over the roster, the organization will alter the approach that resulted in Foley getting hired in the first place.

The unanimous opinion of a variety of league and industry sources from whom we've heard over the past couple of weeks is that Foley is a lightweight who never should have gotten the job.

So why did he get the job?

Several sources have opined that the move was aimed at ensuring a high level of influence for V.P. of football operations Rob Brzezinski, V.P. of operations and legal counsel Kevin Warren, and coach Brad Childress. Since, as the theory goes, Foley didn't come through the door as an ***-kicker and name-taker, Brzezinski, Warren, and Childress would have more juice.

"THIS IS ABOUT TURF PROTECTION," as one league source with extensive knowledge regarding the operation of NFL front offices has explained to us via a Wednesday night e-mail, using all caps for emphasis.

The central figure in all of this, as the source opined, is Brzezinski. It was Brzezinksi, after all, who cozied up to Zygi Wilf last season, sitting next to him in the owner's box and securing the owner's trust. So at a time when Wilf couldn't call up any of the other 31 members of the Billionaire Boys Club and ask for basic advice on how to run a pro football team, Wilf did the only thing that he could.

He gave Brzezinski a significant voice in the process.

And as another source previously has explained, part of the problem is that Wilf didn't appreciate the importance of a personnel chief to the team, budgeting something in the neighborhood of $500,000 per year for the job. Indeed, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the three-year deal is believed to be worth in excess of $1 million.

Wilf's focus was the coaching position. It appears in hindsight that he focused on it too much.

Our recommendation for a next step? Hire a respected person from an organization with a proven track record of success and give him the reins.

And spend the money necessary to make it happen.

Here's the interview list we'd compile, right now, in no particular order: Kevin Colbert of the Steelers, Jason Licht of the Eagles, Scott Pioli of the Patriots, Chris Polian of the Colts, Jerry Reese of the Giants, Scott Pioli of the Patriots, Dan Rooney Jr. of the Steelers, Ted Sundquist of the Broncos, Mike Lombardi of the Raiders, Eric DeCosta of the Ravens, Greg Gabriel of the Bears, Ruston Webster of the Bucs.

None have "final say" -- thus, any of them can be hired as long as they get "final say" in Minnesota.

We're not saying which one of these guys we'd ultimately hire. The final decision depends on the manner in which the candidate fits within the existing structure.

But we'd interview all of them, and we'd hire one of them.

ASAFP.