Following the Minnesota Vikings’ NFL football game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, December 29, 2013, in Minneapolis, former Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant bids a fond farewell to the Metrodome. The Hall of Fame coach Grant, who led the Minnesota Vikings and their formidable Purple People Eaters defense to four Super Bowls in eight years and lost all of them, has passed away. Grant was a stern and exacting man. He was 95.
How Did Bud Grant Died?
Grant’s passing was revealed by the Vikings on social media. “Bud Grant, more than any other person, helped to establish the Minnesota Vikings. Bud was a once-in-a-lifetime man who will always be associated with achievement, tenacity, the North, and the Vikings, according to club owners Zygi and Mark Wilf in a joint statement made available to the media. He was, in essence, a Viking.
Following the 1973, 1974, and 1976 seasons, the highly favored Vikings lost to Kansas City 23-7, setting the stage for the infamous run of title game losses to Miami, Pittsburgh, and Oakland from the supposedly inferior conference.
About Bud Grant
Grant, a devoted outdoor enthusiast who frequently spent the offseason on hunting or fishing trips in Arizona or Alaska, was also a successful head coach in the Canadian Football League and the first individual to be inducted into the Halls of Fame of both the CFL and NFL. In the ten years that he spent in Canada, he won four league titles.
Bud was given to Harry Peter Grant Jr. by his mother when he was born on May 20, 1927, in Superior, Wisconsin. After overcoming polio as a kid, he excelled in three sports as a high school athlete. He joined the military in 1945 and played on a squad at the Great Lakes Naval Station outside of Chicago, run by Paul Brown, who would go on to become a successful coach.
His Career
Grant resigned after the 1983 campaign, and Les Steckel took over. Steckel’s fiery style was the complete opposite of Grant’s cool demeanor, and he finished the season 3-13. Before veteran offensive coordinator Jerry Burns was elevated to the position of head coach, Grant came back for one season, ending with a 7-9 record.
Even though Grant stopped coaching at that point, his impact on his squad and city persisted. Grant remained to reside in Bloomington, Indiana, less than 10 miles from Metropolitan Stadium, in the same suburban home he had purchased upon his arrival in 1967. He evolved into a sort of community representative for the Vikings, occasionally lending his voice to the lobbying drive to replace the Metrodome, where the club played from 1982 to 2013.
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