Viking Coach Lashes Out at Critics of His Offensive Coordinator

Coach Jerry Burns unleashed an apparently unprovoked, obscenity-riddled tirade against Viking fans and reporters who have heavily criticized his offensive coordinator, Bob Schnelker, after Minnesota’s 23-21 victory Sunday.

Earlier in the week, local columnists began suggesting that Schnelker be replaced after Herschel Walker had only 12 carries in the Vikings’ 24-14 loss to the New York Giants Monday night.

And Sunday afternoon, when the Metrodome’s big-screen scoreboard showed Schnelker on the sidelines, the crowd lashed out with boos.

After the game, Burns lashed back.

“As long as I’ve got this . . . job, Bob Schnelker will be the . . . offensive coordinator,” Burns screamed after stepping to the podium in an interview room. “We can’t be responsible for the . . . blocking, or the . . . tackling or the . . . guys jumping offsides.

“We have one dumb . . . play by (Alfred) Anderson when his . . . shoe is coming off. We’re . . . hollering to call time out, but we run the . . . trap play and his . . . shoe comes off. That ain’t Bob Schnelker’s fault.”

Burns went on to list another three or four mistakes by his players before concluding that the criticism of Schnelker should cease.

When he finally stopped yelling, someone asked him if his team had indeed just won a game.

“I think we did, yeah,” Burns said, softly.