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!

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.

The Dolphins announced today that GM Jeff Ireland is taking the reins from executive vice president of football operations Bill Parcells.

From USA Today’s The Huddle:

“Effective immediately, Jeff Ireland will assume full control over all aspects and decisions in regard to the Miami Dolphin football team and support staff.”

However the Dolphins also noted “this was the intent of the structure put in place in the past,” and that Parcells “will remain with the club on a daily consultant basis.”

There was no word as to whether Ireland’s official title had changed.

Even though I think it’s amazing how Parcells continues to come and leave as he pleases in the NFL, the Dolphins are in better shape now than when he first arrived (the team was 1-15 then), so he essentially fulfilled his job requirements. And with Tony Sparano in charge of a team that now has Chad Henne, Brandon Marshall and Karlos Dansby at its core, Parcells has set Miami up for the foreseeable future, too.

Parcells will remain with the organization on a daily consulting basis, according to the team. So as of now, it doesn’t look like he’ll be jetting off to another team anytime soon.

Of course, this is Bill Parcells were talking about, so nobody should be surprised if he popped up in another NFL city sometime down the road.

As the 2010 NFL Draft nears, Marcellus Wiley feels for players that are about to get their first taste of playing professional football. As a rookie second round pick of the Bills in 1997, he cut his teeth playing alongside guys like Bruce Smith, Bryce Paup and Phil Hansen. He learned quickly that in order to succeed in the NFL, athleticism can only get you so far; you also have to have a sound work ethic, great technique at your position and a solid football IQ.

Wiley, now a NFL analyst for ESPN’s NFL Live and sometimes a co-host on “Mike and Mike in the Morning” and “SportsNation,” was kind enough to chat with us for nearly 25 minutes about a variety of topics recently, from why young defensive ends tend to struggle their first couple years in the league, to what it was like to play for coaches like Marv Levy and Bill Parcells. Wiley even shared a couple of stories with us from his playing days as a Bill, like the time Ruben Brown taught him a lesson about technique in practice and the shocking surprise Ted Washington had crumbled up on the front seat of his car.

The Scores Report: Hi, this Anthony.

Marcellus Wiley: Hey, this is Marcellus Wiley.

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According to Dolphins beat writer Edgar Thompson of the Palm Beach Post, Georgia Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan will “100 percent” be Miami’s pick at No. 12 in next week’s draft if he’s available.

Many draft pundits speculated that the Dolphins would select Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant at No. 12 before the team acquired Brandon Marshall from the Broncos earlier this week. But with their need at receiver filled, the Fins can now concentrate on adding a pure pass rusher.

After racking up 19.5 sacks (including 12.5 last season) while playing at Georgia Tech the past three years, Morgan is highly regarded as the best pass rusher in this year’s draft. While he lacks pure athleticism, speed and overall quickness, he exhibits good instincts, awareness, and has a non-stop motor. He was highly productive in college and has an outstanding work ethic, which is probably why Bill Parcells and the Dolphins are drawn to him.

Unless the Seahawks select him at No. 6 or the Jaguars target him at No. 10, Morgan should be on the board when the Dolphins pick at No. 12.