NFL teams
Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Vikings to induct late coach Dennis Green into Ring of Honor

NFL, Minnesota Vikings

EAGAN, Minn. -- The late Dennis Green will be inducted into the Vikings' Ring of Honor at halftime of Minnesota's game against the Bills on Sept. 23 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Green coached the Vikings from 1992 through 2001. He coached 171 games in 10 seasons with a 101-70 record, including playoffs, and finished with the second-most victories in franchise history behind Bud Grant (178).

Green, who died in July 2016, led Minnesota to four NFC Central Division titles and two appearances in the NFC Championship Game. His 1998 team featured one of the best offenses in league history; that group scored 556 points for an average of 34.8 per game, an NFL record that has since been broken.

Green was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1992 by the Washington Touchdown Club and in 1998 by Sports Illustrated and the Maxwell Club. His ties to the community were cemented during his time in Minnesota. Green initiated "Community Tuesdays," which had players active in the Twin Cities on their day off, a concept that other teams in the league began to implement within their own clubs.

"Dennis Green's impact on the Minnesota Vikings, and really the entire NFL, is still felt to this day," Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf said in a statement. "In addition to being widely regarded as one of the NFL's top coaches, Denny was also known as a great mentor and leader by all who had the fortune of being in his presence. We're extremely honored to forever memorialize Denny and his family in the Vikings Ring of Honor and we're looking forward to the induction in September."

Mark, Zygi and Lenny Wilf, along with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, informed Green's wife, Marie, of the upcoming honor at team headquarters last Friday. Goodell was in the Twin Cities or the official ribbon cutting ceremony at the Vikings' new team headquarters, the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center in Eagan.

Green is the sole inductee in 2018, a year after Minnesota brought former receivers Randy Moss and Ahmad Rashad into the Ring of Honor. The prestigious group will soon stand at 24 members, including Fran Tarkenton, Alan Page, Jim Finks, Grant, Paul Krause, Fred Zamberletti, Jim Marshall, Ron Yary, Korey Stringer, Mick Tingelhoff, Carl Eller, Cris Carter, Bill Brown, Jerry Burns, Randall McDaniel, Chuck Foreman, John Randle, Scott Studwell, Chris Doleman, Matt Blair, Joey Browner, Rashad and Moss.

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