Sports

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was named interim coach. The writing has been on the wall for weeks, and Sunday's 31-3 loss that included plenty of in-fighting was the final nail in Childress' coffin. He never saw eye-to-eye with Brett Favre, and lost the respect of the locker room. The 3-7 Vikings could no longer reasonably keep Childress on board. Chilly's five-year run in Minnesota ends with a 39-35 regular season record and two playoff appearances. The Vikings don't figure to be any worse off with Frazier, who's been a hot head-coaching candidate for multiple offseasons. Childress' lack of communication skills and willingness to publicly throw players under the bus don't bode well for his chances of resurfacing. And unlike Brian Billick, the surly Childress isn't going to appeal to T.V. networks. ESPN's Ed Werder predicts that Childress' firing will convince Favre to finish out the season.