Former NFL coach Dennis Green dies of cardiac arrest

Former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green died Friday morning of cardiac arrest.

Green was 67.

Best remembered for his boisterous press conferences, including one where he uttered the enduring catchphrase "they are who we thought they were," Green enjoyed a long coaching career that began with the Dayton Flyers in 1971.

Green joined the NFL as the San Francisco 49ers' special teams coach in 1979, then bounced between the NFL and college football before the Vikings made him their head coach in 1992.

Green's tenure in Minnesota lasted until 2001 and included the Vikings' 15-1 season in 1998 in which the team set an NFL record for points scored in a season and fell just short of a Super Bowl berth.

Green's time with the Cardinals was also memorable, but perhaps for reasons he would have preferred it not be. After the team blew a 20-point lead against the Chicago Bears on "Monday Night Football" in 2006, Green held a press conference for the ages.

"The Bears are what we thought they were," he shouted at reporters. "They're what we thought they were. We played them in preseason - who the hell takes a third game of the preseason like it's bullshit? Bullshit! We played them in the third game - everybody played three quarters - the Bears are who we thought they were! That's why we took the damn field! Now if you want to crown them, then crown their ass! But they are who we thought they were! And we let 'em off the hook!"