Brad Childress has admitted in the past that acquiring Randy Moss from the Patriots last year was a mistake. But he took the Moss situation a step further this week when he criticized the receiver for “vomiting on” his locker room.

“We had good guys, by and large, [but Moss] walked in the locker room and vomited on it.”

Regular readers know that I’m not a huge Moss fan. I think he was blessed with elite talent and if he had Jerry Rice’s work ethic, he could have been the best receiver to play the game. Instead, Moss picked his spots to be great. He was motivated when he first came into the league because so many teams passed on him in the 1998 draft, so he worked his ass off in Minnesota. Then he was traded to Oakland and completely shut it down. When he was sent to New England in 2007, he was hungry again to prove his worth and wound up being an MVP candidate for the Patriots. When he wanted a new contract at the start of last season and didn’t receive one from the Pats, he shut it down again and became a distraction in Minnesota and Tennessee.

But despite my feelings about Moss, I find it interesting that in the same breath Childress didn’t mention how big of a distraction Brett Favre’s situation was last year. Now, don’t make this a race thing – it’s not about race. My point is that there were tons of things that went wrong in Minnesota last year, most of which happened before Moss even arrived. So why didn’t Childress speak out about that while he was busy pointing the finger at Moss?

It’s not hard to believe that Randy Moss was a distraction and now that he’s not associated with the organization any more, Childress has the right to speak his mind. But if he’s looking to point the finger, he might as well point it at more than just Moss. Favre was a distraction from Day 1; first, nobody knew whether or not he was going to return to Minnesota because he did his annual song and dance routine for months, then he became a distraction again when the Jenn Sterger story broke. Funny how Childress says he has no regrets getting on his knees and begging Favre to come back, yet Moss “vomited” on his good-guy locker room.

Please. Childress was the root of the issue in Minnesota. The players didn’t respect him, he never had a handle on how to manage the different personalities in the locker room and he allowed guys like Favre to do whatever he wanted. The head coach sets the tone for the rest of the team and very few players in that Vikings locker room were ready to march to the beat of Brad Childress.

The Vikings may not make the playoffs this year under Leslie Frazier but I can almost guarantee you that it won’t be because the players don’t respect the head coach. And for that, the franchise is in much better shape now than it was at this point last year.

Even if you’re a Green Bay Packer fan, it’s hard not to love Jared Allen.

That’s because the Minnesota Vikings defensive end plays with a fierce relentlessness, isn’t afraid to speak his mind, and is a guy that if you spent an hour with him you wouldn’t have the slightest idea he was a million dollar athlete.

Jared will be hosting his 2nd annual charity golf tournament called “Night-Ops II” on Saturday, June 18, which is an event that benefits his foundation “Homes 4 Wounded Warriors.” As Jared explains in the interview, the root of the foundation is that you “should feel your most comfortable at your most vulnerable state.” Thus, “Homes 4 Wounded Warriors” is about helping wounded soldiers by remolding their homes so that they’re handicap accessible. For someone who also has family members and friends that have served in the military, it’s a truly touching cause.

Jared also shared his thoughts on the lockout saga, whether or not Brett Favre’s situation was a major distraction for the 6-10 Vikings last year, and what quarterback he loves drilling the most. It would be an understatement to say that his answers weren’t entertaining.

For more on Jared Allen, including details and information on his “Homes 4 Wounded Warriors” foundation, check out his official website.

Jared Allen: Hey Anthony!

The Scores Report: Hey Jared! How are you?

JA: I’m doing well.

TSR: Is your schedule busy today?

JA: Not really – I’m actually just being lazy. I was supposed to play some golf and go for a mountain bike ride, but I’ve got the wrong size tube on my tires so…you know. (Laughs)

TSR: So here you are stuck talking to me. (Laughs)

JA: (Laughs) Yeah!

TSR: Your annual charity golf tournament goes to a fantastic cause. Can you fill readers in on how your foundation “Homes 4 Wounded Warriors” got started and what it’s all about?

JA: Absolutely. First of all, my family is all military. My grandfather spent 26 years in the Marine Corps, is a retired Marine Corps Captain, and my little brother is in the Marines. I think two of my uncles were Marines in ‘Nam and another one was in the Air Force for 30-some-odd-years. So I have a family lineage of military members, but I got to go on the USO tour and while it wasn’t exactly what my grandfather or uncles went through, I got a look into what our military services go through during the time of war. To be able to see first hand the sacrifices that they make on a daily basis was so humbling. It makes you realize how much we take for granted. After hearing about the multiple trips that these guys have made overseas, when I got back from the USO tour I realized I wanted to do more. I wanted to help and give back to our men and women that serve in the military. So I talked with an Army buddy of mine that’s been over to Iraq three times and we came up with the Jared Allen’s “Homes 4 Wounded Warriors” foundation. We based it on the idea that when you’re at home, you should feel your most comfortable at your most vulnerable state. I know that when I come home from a bad day, a tough practice or whatever it may be, I can breathe a sigh of relief. I know that I’m home and for that time, I’m relaxed and everything like that. So the one thing that we thought of was that the last thing that these soldiers should have to worry about is not being able to get around their house because they’re missing an arm, or a leg, or are blind, or whatever it may be. So that’s where we come in. We remodel an existing home or, if necessary, we completely build a new home so that it’s handicap accessible and fits the specific needs of our wounded vets. So that’s how we started and we just finished our first house in Minnesota for a staff sergeant up there. Now we’re focusing on building a couple of homes for some people down here in Arizona. We work directly with the V.A. so everyone is 100-percent medically discharged and I’ll tell you what, it’s been a cool thing.

TSR: I can only imagine have the opportunity to go overseas and grasp how much the members of our military do for us back home. This sounds like a truly great foundation that you’ve started.

JA: Oh, yeah. And now we’re getting ready for our golf tournament, which is a fun way to raise money. We wanted to figure out a way to incorporate the military aspect into the tournament so we came up with the “Night-Ops” where we play half the holes during the day and half of the holes at night. And we have Marines out there screaming and Air Guard out there doing stuff, so it’s a good time.

TSR: What kind of response have you gotten so far from the people and the lives that you’ve affected?

JA: You know, I don’t know if I’ve affected anyone’s lives. I think they’ve affected me more than I’ve affected them. My biggest take away from being able to see these people overseas are how humble it makes you. To see a smile on their face and to take their minds off the war for a few minutes…if we did that then that’s awesome. To me, it doesn’t matter if you’re pro-war or against it, republican or democrat – it doesn’t matter. The point is that these military people from the United States are risking their lives every day so that we can be back home enjoying ours. So from that stand point, the dedication that these people give is what has inspired me. They embrace the suck because it’s their job. You talk to these marines who are living in barracks in the middle of the desert and they don’t bitch, they don’t complain. They get up and they do their job day in and day out. So it makes you appreciate the little things that we take for granted and it makes you realize that a bad day at home is a good day over there. (Laughs)

TSR: (Laughs) No doubt.

JA: Again, I don’t know how much I’ve affected their lives but I know they’ve affected mine just from the standpoint of the dedication and focus that they’ve had.

TSR: Well I wish you the best of luck at your golf tournament and everything having to do with your foundation, Jared. It’s a great cause and I hope it continues to grow each year.

JA: Definitely, thank you. We’re always looking for ways to better it and the response has been awesome. The one cool thing is that nobody from our foundation makes a dime from it. So 100-percent of these proceeds go directly into building these homes.

TSR: I wanted to get your take on the latest lockout drama. Can fans get their hopes up that this secret meeting held by union officials and the owners last week is a sign that the lockout is ending soon or are the two sides nowhere close?

JA: I think the meetings are a little late but I’m glad they’re happening. Obviously both sides have been negotiating for a while now and the biggest thing that fans need to understand is that this is a lockout and not a strike. The owners have locked us out from work and the reason that we sued was to get back to work. Know what I mean? But these meetings are the only way something is going to get done; by the two sides coming together and finding a middle ground. Unfortunately most of our resources right now on both sides are being wasted on court fees and lawyer costs. Eventually a fair deal has to get done, but at the same time I’m really proud of our guys for standing their ground and not just signing a deal to get it done and get back onto the field. Because there are some fundamental issues that need to be resolved. The long-term healthcare issue is definitely something that needs to be addressed. I know a bunch of retired players that can’t get healthcare unless they own a business or something because they’re so beat up. I’m glad we’re fighting for better benefits for retired players because we’re all going to be retired one day and the outcome of this CBA negotiation is going to determine a lot of things from here on out, just like in ’87. So, there are some fundamental issues that I think must be addressed and the rest is obviously financials and semantics from the ownership side. Remember, we were happy with the deal the way it was. It’s the owners who want us to take a paycut. You don’t give without receiving something back, you know?

TSR: Right.

JA: But I think it is heading in the right direction. There’s a timeline crunch coming on and I think both sides realize that we have the best game in sports and that we have a very good product. Look at what happened in baseball and hockey when they took that product off the field. I mean, they’re still trying to recover. Football is a great game and I think unfortunately they’re implementing too many rules. Heck, I’m in for going back to 14 games and leather helmets – let’s go play ball. (Laughs)

TSR: (Laughs) I don’t think receivers who have to go over the middle want to go back to leather helmets. They won’t even make it through one game, nevertheless 14 or 16!

JA: Hey, we all sign on the dotted line! I chose to be a receiver, I chose to be a defensive line – we all know the risks.

TSR: (Laughs)

JA: But yeah, I think both sides are heading in the right direction in getting together recently. I think it does some good to get away from the attorneys and obviously this looming appeal is going to play a huge role in this. I think if something can get done before the appeals court can make a decision, I think it’s the best-case scenario for both sides. Obviously you know how emotions can get played out when they announce these types of rulings. People can suddenly feel jaded one way or another, but I think the only way something is going to get done is by communicating. It doesn’t do us any good to sit and wait for a judge to get something done because that’ll prove to only benefit the attorneys.

TSR: The most frustrating thing to me about all of this, you know, besides the fact that there may not be football next year, is that at the start of this fiasco the best way to resolve this issue was for the two sides to talk. And now here we are so many months later and the best way to resolve the issue is if…the two sides talk.

JA: (Laughs) Yeah you know, and that’s what I’ve been trying to say to our fans. As players, we want to play. We filed the suit for the injunction so that we could play and get back to work. That’s our stance on the deal. But yeah, it is, it is annoying. I think people are starting to see the business side of things. As fans, we tend to look at football as purely a sport but whenever money is involved there’s always another side. Unfortunately through this lockout, fans are seeing the brutal side to our game.

TSR: No doubt.

JA: But like you said, you can’t get anything done without communication. As a player having already had to go through the negotiation process and all of that, one thing they always tell you is don’t negotiate through the media. That’s what the owners and all the organizations tell the players: Don’t negotiate through the media. So why did they go through the media back at the start of this? You know, saying that we’re asking for too much when our thing was, ‘show us your books.’ Let’s make a fair deal. Open your books and let’s make this a mathematical equation. You’re making X amount and if we need to help, let’s work something out.

TSR: Right.

JA: But when you starting negotiating through the media, this is what it leads to. Then emotions get involved and hands get forced. You know, this wasn’t something that just came about. The owners knew they were opting out back in ’08 or ’09. So there has been time to get something done. It’s on the owners. We’re ready to get back to work but at the same time you can’t rake us over the coals.

TSR: This is just a generalization on my part, but I think most fans side with the players because like you said, you guys want to play.

JA: Absolutely and hey, I completely understand the fans’ frustration. As a fan myself, you look at the situation and you say: This is ridiculous. Who’s making the decisions here? Let’s get both sides together and get this thing done.’ Attorneys just seem to cause problems. (Laughs)

TSR: (Laughs) Definitely. Let’s switch gears and talk Vikings. I know it’s not one guy that turns a team that played in the NFC title game two years ago into a 6-10 mess. But was Brett Favre a distraction last year or were there bigger factors that led to the Vikings’ struggles in 2010?

JA: Oh, it’s a bunch of factors. I mean, you even look at our NFC championship run and there were games we won…if you look at that Niners game for example, are you kidding me?

TSR: (Laughs) Right!

JA: Greg Lewis was on the team for a week and he makes the greatest catch I have ever seen. (Laughs)

TSR: (Laughs) The ending of that game was incredible unless you’re a Niner fan.

JA: You look at games like that where they could have gone in a different direction, and unfortunately it kind of went against us last year. I’m not going to sit here and say that the Brett saga wasn’t a distraction because it obviously led to be more than it was. But as players and as an organization, we have to take responsibility for allowing it to become a distraction. At some point when you enter that locker room, everything outside of that locker room has to be put away so that you can perform your best on the field. We get paid to put our best on the field and win day in and day out. We’re human too, so outside issues are going to cause problems sometimes. But at some point they have to be addressed the right way and moved on from and that’s really what happened. There was a lack of communication from the organization and then they’re scrambling, and then all of a sudden they’re dealing with a head coach-quarterback controversy, then they wind up firing Brad in the middle of the season. And you know, Brad wasn’t to blame for everything. I’m good friends with Coach Childress still and I thank him for getting me to Minnesota. But when things get mishandled, now you’ve got people trying to right a ship by all extreme measures and I’ll tell you what, it really got messed up. Then our dome collapsed and anything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. (Laughs) What is that? Murphy’s Law or something?

TSR: (Laughs) When it rains it pours, right?

JA: (Laughs) Yeah! I’ll never forget, we were getting ready to play the Giants and my buddy Lawrence Tynes, the kicker for the Giants who I played with in Kansas City, calls me. I answered and I asked why he was calling me so early and on the day of the game no-less. He goes, “Your roof collapsed!” I said, “Whaaaaat?” (Laughs)

TSR: (Laughs)

JA: It was 5:30 or 6 o’clock in the morning and I was like, you’ve got to be kidding me!

TSR: What else could go wrong?

JA: No kidding. So we had a combination of things happen to us last year and you can’t blame one person. But like I said, I don’t want to make excuses because at the end of the day it’s your responsibility as players to put your best product on the field and to win games. And you know what? It’s part of the league and a lot of teams have gone through it. We’ve got some stability back now. We have Coach Frazier. We don’t really know what’s going on with our offense, our quarterback or the league, but we’ll figure all of that out eventually. (Laughs)

TSR: (Laughs) I don’t want to keep you all day, so let’s go rapid fire from here on out. Give me some quick-hit thoughts on these topics.

JA: No problem.

TSR: Christian Ponder will be your starting quarterback in 2011.

JA: (Long pause) Depends on free agency.

TSR: Ray Edwards will be a Viking next year.

JA: Uh, not looking so good.

TSR: (Laughs) Well how about this: Is he going to be a boxer or a Viking?

JA: Well, I’ll have to go back and study the tapes. (Laughs) I think he’s going to be a boxer over a Viking.

TSR: (Laughs) All right, last one: I know hitting every quarterback is fun, but which one gets you fired up the most? I think I know the answer to this question but I’ll ask anyway.

JA: Peyton Manning. You always like hitting the best, you know? I used to hit Peyton a lot but it took me five years to actually sack him, so that’s probably my most memorable hit. Along with Tom Brady and those future Hall of Famers.

TSR: That’s a good answer but I’ve got to tell you, I’m shocked. I’m shocked it’s not one of two guys: Aaron Rodgers or Jay Cutler.

JA: Oh well yeah, yeah. Aaron is a hell of a quarterback and he’s tough to get to, too. I think I’ve played against him so much now that you just come to expect that you’re going to get to him a couple of times at least.

TSR: That memory from a couple of years ago when their offensive line was a mess and you just teed off on him keeps popping into my head. What was that, a Monday night game?

JA: Yeah, it was a Monday night game. Then I got like sacks three up there so I got him 7.5 times in one year, which is funny because Chad Clifton is a guy I really enjoy playing against. We tend to have these games where up there, he may get the better of me, and then we get under the dome and I usually get a sack or two on him. So we’ve been having some great battles over the last four years of my career.

TSR: This has been a lot of fun and while I could easily talk a couple of hours, I’ll let you go. Thank you for sitting down with us – I really appreciate your time.

JA: Not a problem – any time.

TSR: And best of luck with your golf tournament.

JA: Thank you so much.

TSR: Take care.

In an interview with the Pioneer Press, Brad Childress gives his version of his departure from Minnesota.

“If you pull a couple of quotes from a locker room, it all gets exacerbated a bit,” Childress said. “By and large, I know the support I had. It’s a good group of guys in that locker room.”

Regarding Moss, Childress heard late in the process that Moss was lobbying to owner Zygi Wilf for Childress to be fired, but he was already set on waiving him. Childress did not consult with upper management about the move.

Not every Viking was against parting with Moss.

“Some players came up to me afterward and said, ‘Coach, we would have been disappointed if you didn’t do something,’ ” Childress said.

Sure, Childress’s stories are anecdotal and he’s probably overstating the support he had in the locker room, but with the way Moss was reportedly acting, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were several players who understood why Childress put him on waivers.

Whatever the issues, Childress will receive $5 million total through the 2012 season, which isn’t a bad severance package.

My guess is that it’ll be a while before Brad Childress finds another head coaching job in the NFL. And if he doesn’t change his philosophy on how to mange relationships with players, then he may never have another chance.

One of the main reasons Vikings’ owner Zygi Wilf hired Childress in 2006 is because he thought Childress would help restore order off the field. The “Love Boat Scandal” was still fresh on everyone’s minds and Wilf fell for Childress’ harden approach with players.

The problem is that Childress didn’t have much coaching experience at the time. He had never been a head coach at any level and while he was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles before arriving in Minnesota, head coach Andy Reid called most of Philadelphia’s plays over that span. Thus, Childress’ football resume was highly barren of legitimate experience.

There were also warning signs about the way Childress handled players. It was highly reported that Terrell Owens had asked Childress not to speak to him during the 2005 season. When he did get to Minnesota, several veteran quarterbacks including Brad Johnson and Gus Frerotte didn’t see eye-to-eye with Childress because they weren’t allowed to go off-script during games.

Childress also got into a spat with Brett Favre last year because he didn’t appreciate the veteran quarterback’s freelancing. More recently, he’s gotten into spats with receiver Percy Harvin and cornerback Antoine Winfield. Out of the handful of articles that I read so far on his firing, not one player has defended or stuck up for him. That says a lot.

All of this leads to the obvious: Childress doesn’t know how to handle NFL personalities. He desperately wanted Favre to be his quarterback, but he didn’t know how to handle Brett’s massive ego. He wanted Randy Moss to save his fleeting passing game, but the first time the receiver gave him any guff he waived him on the spot.

Some coaches can get away with being a disciplinary. Bill Cowher made his mark in Pittsburgh with that approach, although he also knew how to strike a rapport with players. He knew he couldn’t constantly belittle them or they’d eventually turn their backs on him, which is exactly what happened to Childress. Vikings players put up with him last year because they were winning. But now that this has become a lost season, they had no problem giving marginal effort for a guy whom they don’t respect.

All this leads to is this: if Childress doesn’t change his ways then he might as well drop down to the college ranks where players are easier to mold. While he’s down there, he may want to learn how to maximize his players’ strengths, too. It never ceased to amaze me how much he misused Adrian Peterson throughout his years in Minnesota. But that’s a topic for another time.

For now, “Chilly” might want to work on his people skills.

On the heels of a humiliating loss to their bitter rivals, the Minnesota Vikings have fired Brad Childress and named defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier interim head coach, per Adam Schefter.

I’m sure Anthony will have something more to say on the matter, but as a longtime Packer fan, I’m a little sad to see Chilly go. It has been fun to watch the Vikings’ downward spiral starting with their disappointing last-minute loss in the NFC championship game to the cluster#%&* that is this season. Childress lost the locker room a while ago, and since he’s not winning, there’s no point in keeping him around.

It’s possible that owner Zygi Wilf saw how the Cowboys suddenly became respectable once they made a head coaching change and decided to follow suit after the Packers took his team behind the woodshed on Sunday. Or maybe he just wanted to see what Frazier could do with this team for the rest of the season before potentially committing to him long term. (Though with the way the defense played — and bickered — against the Packers, the defense definitely has its issues as well.)

So let the speculation begin. Even before this news, there were already rumors that Wilf might tag Bill Parcells to come in and change the team’s culture. There are a number of other good candidates out there as well, including Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher.

And — gasp! — what if a new coach meant that Brett Favre might want to come back for another go-around!?!

Buckle your seat belts, people!

The Vikings apparently have their answer.

Just hours after numbnut Brad Childress reveled that the Vikings threatened receiver Sidney Rice with injured reserve if he didn’t play this week, NFL Network’s Steve Wyche reports that Rice is “almost certain” to lace ‘em up against the Packers on Sunday.

Rice had been stalling about whether or not he would play because he becomes a free agent at the end of the year and doesn’t want to risk further injury. He’s missed the past 10 weeks after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason and if he winds up suffering another injury, it could wind up costing him millions on the open market next year.

But the Vikings need him to play now, which is where the aforementioned threat came in. They’ve been saving a spot on their 53-man roster and they’ve grown impatient wondering whether or not he’ll play. The ball has been in Rice’s court for the past two weeks and per reports, he’s looked healthy in practice.

What this means for the Vikings is simple: Brett Favre now has his deep threat back. But that doesn’t mean Rice will be effective right out of the gates. Don’t forget that he hasn’t played since Minnesota lost to New Orleans in the NFC Championship Game last year. He’s been able to practice, but obviously that’s not the same as playing in a real game. The defenders that he’ll be seeing on Sunday already have nine games under their belts and he still has to get up to game speed. It’s great for the Vikings that he’ll play, but it’s a little unrealistic to think that he’ll be the player he was last year when he hasn’t seen game action in nearly 10 months.

You knew that somebody, somewhere was going to cast a line for the Big Tuna as soon as he escaped Miami.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune speculates that the Vikings may be interested in Bill Parcells as soon as they fire Brad Childress if they decide to part ways with Brad Childress at the end of the year.

A reporter from the Palm Beach Post saw an advance copy of the NFL Network film about Bill Parcells that will debut tonight. In it Parcells makes it clear that at the age of 69 he isn’t ready to ride off into the sunset.

“Get me back out there,” Parcells says. “I can do this one more time. That’s how I feel.”

Well, isn’t that interesting. Parcells most recently worked as a consultant for the Miami Dolphins and last coached in 2006 with the Dallas Cowboys. He is best remembered, however, for winning two Super Bowls as coach of the New York Giants.

That is the same organization that Zygi Wilf has a huge fan of before he bought the Vikings in 2005. Already many have connected the dots that Wilf might be interested in bringing Parcells to Minnesota.

Zulgad goes on to note that Wilf has been more than satisfied with the job president of player personnel Rick Spielman and vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski have done. Thus, it’s not even certain that Wilf would want to bring in Parcells. But there’s no doubt it’s an interesting thought.

True-blue Giants fans love themselves some Parcells. The man can do no wrong and if Wilf still bleeds “Big Blue,” then he’s going to have at least a faint interest in hiring Parcells (especially after Childress gets done making a mess of everything this season).

Will everything come together? Who knows – again, this is just speculation on Zulgad’s part. There needs to be more to this than, “Wilf was a Giants fan so surely he’ll be interested in Parcells.” But it’s not difficult to connect the dots here.