Vikings’ ship continues its descent in murky waters

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – As Minnesota’s Matt Birk has often joked when his team is mired in the latest controversy or off-the-field trouble, the Vikings sure seem to put the “fun” in dysfunctional.

Usually they’re at least competitive between the lines.

This fall, the allegations of sexual misconduct by several players on a boat party earlier this month have been compounded by a series of lopsided losses that have shoved Minnesota to the bottom of the worst division in the league.

Yes, the Vikings have gone overboard.

It’s bad enough when performances on Sunday afternoon are difficult to stomach, but Minnesota fans are more disgusted by their team’s behavior after dark. The charter-cruise gathering during the bye week that allegedly devolved into out-of-control, drunken debauchery with strippers and visible sexual acts is merely the most recent blemish on the franchise.

But it sure makes Onterrio Smith’s possession of “The Original Whizzinator” and coach Mike Tice’s $100,000 fine for Super Bowl ticket scalping seem kind of tame.

Is there anything this team could possibly do at this point to regain the public’s respect?

Perhaps not.

“Right now, nobody thinks we have character,” strong safety Corey Chavous said, “so who cares?”

At first glance, the on-the-field collapse is shocking. The Vikings were a trendy pick this summer to reach the Super Bowl, following a productive spring spent upgrading their defense and shedding the burden Randy Moss brought on top of his unparalleled talent.

Even the extreme cynic who criticized the team for trading one of the game’s great receivers and questioned the age of some of the defensive additions could not have envisioned a 1-4 start, or being outscored 119-34 in the four losses.

“We’re still searching for a certain identity – how to put things together and get moving,” backup defensive back Ken Irvin said. “We need to do some soul-searching about what got us into this situation.”

The seeds were planted over the past few seasons as frustrated owner Red McCombs responded to the lack of public support for a new stadium by tightening his budgets and refusing to pay market value for the coaching staff.

Despite a second consecutive falter by Minnesota down the stretch that handed another NFC North title to rival Green Bay, Tice was brought back because he didn’t cost much.

Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, whose work with Daunte Culpepper drew raves from the Pro Bowl quarterback, left to catch some rays – and a huge raise – in Miami. Well-respected offensive line coach Steve Loney was promoted by default to replace Linehan, and asked to remain in charge of the line.

With his $600 million sale of the team to Zygi Wilf in the works, McCombs approved a handful of expensive player signings after previously preventing the Vikings from paying for several high-priced free agents for the weak defense.

The Vikings had a long history of organizational problems even before McCombs bought the team in 1998, bad enough that the league has noticed. During an emergency meeting requested by Wilf on Sunday, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue told the rookie owner he “inherited an organization that was inadequately structured and staffed.”

Wilf has already made many changes, including hiring a former FBI agent as a full-time director of security, with the promise of many more. The addition of an experienced executive to run the front office and dump the current committee-style approach will probably come next.

“I’m happy that the ownership of this team is going to take the measures necessary to clean this team up and restore it to respectability,” said Birk.

Desperately searching for answers, Tice recently added two retired assistants, Jerry Rhome and Foge Fazio, to the staff as consultants.

Although Tice and Loney claimed they had finally settled on the allocation of game-day responsibilities that incorporated Rhome and quarterbacks coach Rich Olson, the latest reorganization obviously wasn’t enough to help in last week’s 28-3 loss at Chicago.

The once-mighty offense didn’t score a touchdown and Culpepper’s struggles continued. He finished 26 for 48 for 237 yards and two interceptions to give him a league-high 12.