Norm Van Brocklin was one of the greatest quarterbacks of his era. “The Dutchman” made the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his work with the Rams and the Eagles from 1949 through 1960, and that led to his time as a head coach for the expansion Vikings from 1961 through 1966, and for the Falcons from 1968 through 1974. Van Brocklin was not the greatest coach for young teams (the Falcons came into existence in 1966) because he was famously impulsive and impatient. He was also famous for throwing together epic sentences of profanity, and he was not at all happy with quarterbacks who did not do things the way he had done them.
This led to a legendary logjam with Fran Tarkenton, who the Vikings selected in the third round of their first-ever draft in 1961. Tarkenton was a scrambler at a time when that was seen as a negative (Van Brocklin would likely lose his mind in today’s NFL), and it got to the point where Tarkenton had no desire to play for Van Brocklin. This led to the Vikings trading Tarkenton to the Giants, and the Vikings moving on from their mercurial coach in favor of Bud Grant. Eventually, the Vikings reversed Van Brocklin’s error by re-acquiring Tarkenton in 1972, and Grant led Minnesota to three Super Bowls.
Van Brocklin had a 29-51-4 record with the Vikings, and things didn’t go much better in Atlanta, where he put up a 37-49-3 mark over seven seasons. Halfway through the 1974 season, the Falcons lost 42-7 to the Dolphins, which led to quite the exchange between Van Brocklin and one Atlanta sports reporter.
Per Bob Rodman of the Albany Democrat-Herald:
“You’re damn right I’m a fighter,” Van Brocklin said in response to a question about whether the coach was still a fighter. “Are you a fighter? Do you want to fight me? Anyone who wants to fight, stand up!”
There were no takers, and Van Brocklin was fired the next day.
Ah, the NFL’s halcyon days, where coaches could threaten to fight everybody in a room before getting canned. You just don’t see that anymore.
