Vikings coach Bud Grant dies at 95

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Bud Grant, the stoic and demanding Hall of Fame coach who led the Minnesota Vikings and their Purple People Eaters defense to four Super Bowls in eight years and lost them all, has died. He was 95 years old.

The Vikings announced Grant’s death on social media on Saturday.

We are absolutely devastated to report that legendary Minnesota Vikings coach and Hall of Famer Bud Grant passed away this morning at the age of 95. “We, like all Vikings and NFL fans, are shocked and saddened by the terrible news.”

Still wearing the purple Vikings cap and with his tough attitude, his unwavering face became the face of his teams. He guided the Vikings from 1967 to 1985 with a bye in 1984 and finished with a 158-96-5 record, 11 division championships in 18 seasons. He was 10-12 in the playoffs.

When Grant retired, he was the NFL’s eighth-winningest coach.

He was a mainstay among the coaches of his day, a decorated group that included Don Shula, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, John Madden and Hank Stram. But Grant had little interest in individual recognition.

“The only reason I see a coach getting credit for something good is that they get blamed when something goes wrong,” he said at one point. “The secret is not to react in good and bad.”

After replacing Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin, Grant formed a renowned defensive line known as the Purple People Eaters. The line, whose motto was “See you at the quarterback” was coupled with a powerful offense that led Minnesota to the Super Bowl in 1970, the last edition of the big game before the AFL-NFL merger.

“If you want to succeed, survive is a better word,” Grant said at the 1994 Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio. “You have to deal with losses. You die every time you lose, but you have to get over it.”

He is survived by his partner, Pat Smith, six children, 19 grandchildren and until 2021, 13 great-grandchildren. His 59-year-old wife, Patricia, died in 2009. One of his sons, Mike Grant, built a strong football program at Eden Prairie High School, 15 minutes from his father’s house, and won 11 state championships in 22 years between 1996 and 2017.