National Football League

Bud Grant turned down coaching, broadcasting opportunities after Vikings

Published May. 21, 2015 2:22 p.m. ET

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Bud Grant was the consummate football coach, and his loyalty to the Minnesota Vikings ran deep. After 18 seasons as head coach of the Vikings, Grant never considered coaching another team, despite several inquiries reported only this week by Sid Hartman of the Star-Tribune.

"You never know what the offers are," Grant told the Star-Tribune, citing the Detroit Lions as one interested team. "There were inquiries. I had four or five teams that inquired if I would be interested in coaching. I was not interested in any of them. They were only inquiries, they were not offers."

The only team that made an official offer after the 1985 season was the Vikings, who were willing to make Grant the NFL's highest-paid coach, the Hall of Famer told Hartman. When it was time to retire, Grant stuck to his decision and even turned down broadcasting opportunities.

"I’ve never made a nickel out of doing anything other than professional sports, as a player, as a coach, I never made a nickel in any other profession, any other investment," Grant said, per the Star-Tribune. "They wanted me to do color on TV and all of that, I never made a nickel doing anything other than being a professional athlete and coach."

Grant, who held a highly publicized garage sale this week, led the Vikings to four Super Bowl appearances and an overall regular-season record of 158-96-5 (.621) from 1967 to 1985.

(h/t Star Tribune)