Dennis Green walked into the radio studio in San Diego and introduced himself with a firm handshake and a friendly smile. It was 1989 and he was at our Mighty 690 studios to talk about being the new head coach of Stanford. The radio station was in play to carry the Stanford football games, something that would be a coup for the University. Green was also looking at a talented football/baseball player at Torrey Pines high school, John Lynch. Johns father owned the radio station…connect the dots and you have the rest of the story…
Denny would come on our airwaves often. He was “good radio” and Lynch would go on to become an almost certain NFL Hall of Famer, by way of Stanford.
The day that the Cardinals hired Denny in 2004, Michael Bidwill made it a point to come over to me and ask pointedly if I was going to use “my Cardinals” on 3TV now that the Green was on board as a coach. I gave my standard “They are “my” team when they win, and “yours” when they lose” answer. Michael didn’t care much for that. Greens 16-32 record meant that I used “yours” much more than “my”.
Despite his win/loss record, Green played a substantive role in building the base for the Cardinal Super Bowl team of 2009. He wasn’t around as coach to see the results, but Larry Fitzgerald, Karlos Dansby, Darnell Dockett and Antonio Smith were all drafted in Greens first season. Unfortunate for him that Matt Leinart, J.J. Arrington, and Leonard Pope showed up early the following two seasons on draft day.
When a coach is remembered most notably for a post game media meltdown rather than results on the field, then you know it wasn’t a good hire. “Crown em” will also be associated with Denny Green and Arizona. RIP…
Brad Cesmat
