Wilf acts fast on a mystery

Give Zygi Wilf this: He does not dawdle. Mike Tice was out before he had a chance to change clothes after the Minnesota Vikings' final game. And now Brad Childress is in before we the people had a chance to give the Zygster our two cents' worth.

We're guessing waffles are not one of Wilf's favorite breakfast foods.

We're also guessing the lovely Mrs. Wilf did not enjoy the longest courtship in affairs of the heart history.

If the Oakland Raiders' franchise slogan is "Commitment to Excellence," the Vikings' has become, "Get 'Er Done."

Which, you have to admit, is better than the previous one: "From Now on What Happens on Lake Minnetonka, Stays on Lake Minnetonka."

It was reported Thursday night that Wilf, the Vikings' owner, was ready to hire Childress as the team's new coach.

Let the opining begin.

Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Good decision or bad decision?

Right choice or wrong choice?

Is there a Super Bowl or a 3-13 season in Minnesota's future?

Hello?

Anybody out there?

Anybody at all?

Echo!

Echoooo!

Echoooooooo!

Welcome to the start of the Childress Era, which for a good while will be marked with far more questions than answers.

Including but not limited to: "Now, who exactly are you again?"

For the first time since Les Steckel was hired to replace Bud Grant for the 1984 season - and we all know how well that worked out - the Vikings will be led by a commodity truly unknown in Minnesota.

Grant (legend) replaced Steckel. Jerry Burns (longtime assistant) replaced Grant. Dennis Green (twice a major college head coach) replaced Burns. And Tice (former Vikings player and assistant) replaced Green.

All, to some degree, had been visible enough that we could draw some sort of conclusion about them when they got the top job. The conclusion may have been wrong (Green) or pessimistic (Tice), but it was something.

We might need Nancy Drew to learn about Childress. He's a mystery.

We know he was one of the hot assistant everybody figured was going to fill one of the eight head coaching openings.

We know he was the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles for the past four seasons and head coach Andy Reid, not Childress, handled play-calling.

Prior to that, he was the Eagles' quarterbacks coach and an assistant at the University of Wisconsin.

And before that, he paid his penance with a handful of college coaching jobs. None of which included being a head coach.

What made Childress such a slam-dunk candidate?

Hopefully we'll learn today, when the Vikings are expected to hold a press conference announcing Childress' hiring. As much as Wilf struggles in public speaking situations, we'll presume he can convey why he was so smitten with Childress.

It must have been something impressive. The Vikings were the first team with a coaching vacancy to make a hire and they did so two days after beginning interviews.

And, it needs to be noted, the Vikings coach committee did not include anybody with a deep knowledge of football.

Zygi gets the benefit of the doubt. He figured a way to make a billion dollars developing land, so we can conclude hiring a football coach is not the most difficult thing he's ever done.

And give him credit for not hiring a retread like Steve Mariucci or Mike Martz. They are known quantities, unfortunately.

But until the owner tells us why he fell in love with the fresh blood so quickly and until Childress fields his first team next September, there will be mystery surrounding the new coach.

And for anybody who begs to differ we offer the words of the former NFL coach Jim Mora, who during a post-game meltdown once offered this unforgettable wisdom:

"You don't know. You just don't know. You may think you know, but you don't know. And you never will."

Forum sports columnist Mike McFeely can be heard on the Saturday Morning Sports Show, 10 a.m. to noon on WDAY-AM (970). He can be reached at (701) 241-5580 or mmcfeely@forumcomm.com