It's no secret that the Minnesota Viking's defense has been a disaster this season.  It was pointed out most graphically by their recent loss to the Rams who seemed able to move the ball at will against the hapless Vikings defense.  Dennis Green felt that it was time for a change: "The Defense has been a disaster all season and so I've decided to bring in a Crisis Management Specialist to become my new defensive coordinator."

Fazio appears to be bowing out graciously accepting an offer as a linebacker coach with the Washington Redskins, although those rumors are still unconfirmed.  What we do know is that Roy Syverson, known world-wide as the premier "Crisis Management Specialist" has been called in by Green to bring some solutions to the Vikings defensive version of the Y2K Bug.

Syverson gained notoriety through his now famous book "Y2K RU OK?" which prepared the world for the Y2K bug and has been widely praised as the book which enabled the world to make it into the new millennium with hardly a bite.  Bill Gates said, "Syverson's analysis of the Y2K situation is probably the main deterrent to the major Y2K disasters that some had predicted.

Green has been a fan of the book (reportedly giving a copy to each of the coaches and team members for Christmas) and has been a frequent participant at Hard Times Farms Crisis Management Seminars.  He is even thinking of enrolling in the Hard Times School of Music in the off season.

Evidently Green had seen enough defensive disaster to warrant some changes.  So he called in Syverson to analyze the situation and bring some changes.  He is expecting all the defensive players to spend the off season at Hard Times Farms where they will be chasing and tackling hogs in the pig pen.  He feels that this is the best way to practice their tackling skills.  Then during the season he will be turning the Twin's "bull pen" area into a "Pig Pen" where players will be forced to spend time wrestling pigs if they miss a tackle during a game.  He is also talking about calling defensive plays by playing different tunes on the tuba. This will enable all of his players to clearly hear the calls.  He is sure that he has the wind to be able to play loudly enough to be heard even in the noisy Metrodome.

While some are doubting Syverson's coaching credentials and some of his proposed strategies, nobody doubts his status as a crisis management specialist.  Vikings owner, Red McCombs said: "I don't know if this guy can coach, but right now things are in such disarray that a Crisis Management Specialist is probably just what we need."

Good-bye Foge Fazio, Good Luck, Roy Syverson!