Stanford’s Green Hired by Vikings : Pro football: He becomes the NFL’s second black coach. Buccaneers hire Wyche.

The Minnesota Vikings hired Stanford’s Dennis Green on Friday, making him the the second black NFL head coach in modern league history.

Green, 42, replaces Jerry Burns, who resigned. Green becomes the fifth coach in the club’s 31-year history and joins Art Shell of the Raiders as the NFL’s only black head coaches.

“I don’t think players are going to look at is as, ‘We’ve got the black head coach,’ ” Green said. “If I treat them all the same, they’re going to treat me the same.”

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended a three-week search for a coach, giving the job of turning around the NFL’s losingest franchise to Sam Wyche, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Green Bay Packers were working out the details of their offer to Mike Holmgren, offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers.

Green, who got a five-year contract, was selected instead of the New York Jets’ defensive coordinator, Pete Carroll. Carroll, who coached the Vikings’ defensive backfield from 1985-89, was also a finalist for the Stanford job that Green got in 1989.

Last season, Green coached Stanford to an 8-4 record, the school’s second winning season since 1980 and Green’s only winning year as a head coach. The Cardinal was 3-8 in 1989 and 5-6 in 1990. But Green had not been as successful in turning around another program, going 10-45 from 1981-85 at Northwestern, where he was the Big Ten’s first black head football coach.

Green got NFL experience in two stints--1979 and 1986-88--as an offensive assistant under then-San Francisco 49er Coach Bill Walsh. He also won a Super Bowl ring with the 1988 team that first beat the Vikings in the playoffs.

Minnesota, however, hasn’t been in the playoffs the last two years.

“I don’t think you can say you had a successful season unless you’re in the playoffs,” Green said.

Green’s hiring was the first major move by club President Roger Headrick, who a year ago replaced Mike Lynn. In 1989, all-pro safety Joey Browner charged that Lynn was a racist, and other black players privately said the club seemed to have racial problems.

At the recent league meetings, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said he hoped that at least one of the clubs looking for a coach would hire a minority representative. Reportedly, Tagliabue also met privately with several teams, including the Vikings.

Wyche, 47, was introduced by the Buccaneers as the fifth coach in team history less than three weeks after leaving the Cincinnati Bengals amid confusion over whether he quit or was fired after eight seasons.

Wyche, who took the Bengals to the Super Bowl three years ago, received a five-year contract worth a reported $2.75 million. He also will hold the title of director of football operations, giving him control over personnel decisions.

“I don’t like the word control. I’m not a czar,” Wyche said.

Owner Hugh Culverhouse, who fired Richard Williamson after a 3-13 season, settled on Wyche after ending his on-again, off-again pursuit of former New York Giant coach Bill Parcells, who rejected a five-year, $6.5-million contract offer.

Meanwhile, the Green Bay Press-Gazette, quoting unidentified sources, reported that Holmgren and the Packers reached agreement on a five-year, $2.5-million contract.

The newspaper said Holmgren checked into a Green Bay motel Friday and discussed the contract with his agent Bob LaMonte and Packer General Manager Ron Wolf.

Holmgren has been with the 49ers for six seasons. He has been interviewed by six teams during the last two weeks, but LaMonte would not say if his client had other offers.

Dennis Green

Coaching record of the new coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

Year School W L 1981 Northwestern 0 11 1982 Northwestern 3 8 1983 Northwestern 2 9 1984 Northwestern 2 9 1985 Northwestern 3 8 1989 Stanford 3 8 1990 Stanford 5 6 1991 Stanford 8 4 Totals 26 63

Sam Wyche

Coaching record of the new coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

REGULAR SEASON

Year Team W L 1984 Cincinnati 8 8 1985 Cincinnati 7 9 1986 Cincinnati 10 6 1987 Cincinnati 4 11 1988 Cincinnati 12 4 1989 Cincinnati 8 8 1990 Cincinnati 9 7 1991 Cincinnati 3 13 Totals 61 66

PLAYOFFS

Year Team W L 1988 Cincinnati 2 1 1990 Cincinnati 1 1 Totals 3 2

* 1988--Won playoff game against Seattle, 21-13; won conference championship game against Buffalo, 21-10; lost Super Bowl XXIII to San Francisco, 20-16.

* 1990--Won playoff game against Houston, 41-14; lost to Raiders, 20-10.