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Bud Grant, legendary Vikings coach, dies at 95, leaves behind a legacy of winning and cold weather tolerance
Bud Grant, the stoic and demanding Hall of Fame coach who took the Minnesota Vikings and their mighty Purple People Eaters defense to four Super Bowls in eight years and lost all of them, died Saturday
Bud Grant, the renowned and legendary coach, who led Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowls in eight years, died at the age of 95. Grant’s death was announced by the Vikings on social media, which has left the fans and the NFL world in mourning. A one-of-a-kind coach, Grant was stoic and demanded excellence from his team. He is best remembered for his leadership of the Vikings from 1967 to 1985, during which he amassed an impressive 158-96-5 record with 11 division championships in 18 seasons.
Grant was also one of the few coaches to assemble and lead a defensive line as great as the Purple People Eaters. In 1970, the Vikings reached the Super Bowl, but the heavily favored team lost 23-7 to Kansas City. Unfortunately, the team would then lose in the Super Bowl to Miami, Pittsburgh, and Oakland in 1973, 1974, and 1976, respectively. Despite the defeats, Grant remained steadfast, believing that surviving was more important than success.
Grant was an accomplished outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing trips in Alaska and hunting expeditions in Arizona during his offseason. He was also a successful coach in the Canadian Football League, having won four league championships during his ten years in Canada. Grant was born in Superior, Wisconsin, and overcame polio as a child. He became a three-sport high school star and later played on a team run by Paul Brown at the Great Lakes naval station outside Chicago.
Grant went on to play basketball and football at the University of Minnesota, where he became a nine-time letterman and was drafted by both the NBA and NFL. He pursued basketball first, winning a title with the Minneapolis Lakers in 1950. However, Grant's true calling was football. He excelled for the Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL, where he became their coach and took them to six Grey Cup games, winning the title four times.
Grant was renowned for his discipline and insistence on sharp mental focus, which he instilled in his players. He famously had his players practice standing at attention during the national anthem and banned sideline heaters during games at Metropolitan Stadium. Grant's influence on his team and city remained long after his retirement. Even when he retired after the 1983 season, he continued living in the same suburban home he bought upon his 1967 arrival in Bloomington, which was less than ten miles from Metropolitan Stadium.
He became an ambassador of sorts for the Vikings in the community and even served as an honorary captain for the team during a playoff game in 2016. Although Grant was done with coaching by then, his legacy lived on. The NFL and the Vikings community will always remember him as one of the best coaches of all time.
