Legendary Vikings Coach Bud Grant Has Died

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Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - NFL coaching legend Bud Grant has died.

The stoic Minnesota Vikings head coach was 95 years old. The Vikings shared the sad news on social media this morning.

Grant was the Vikings' head coach from 1967 through 1985 and compiled an overall record of 159-96-5. His coaching career with Minnesota's NFL franchise included four Superbowl appearances, but victory eluded the Vikings as they faced Kansas City, Miami, Pittsburgh, and Oakland in 1970, 1974, 1975, and 1977.

Grant was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1994.

Bud Grant was a standout athlete at the University of Minnesota, where he played football, baseball, and basketball before joining the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBA for two seasons. He then switched to the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles before starting his football coaching league in the Canadian Football League.

Following his retirement from the NFL, Grant remained in Minnesota and continued to represent the Vikings at numerous events and public appearances. He famously had worked out an agreement with the team that had the Vikings maintain a lifetime office for him at the team's headquarters.

LOOK: The story behind every NFL team name

Stacker delved into the story behind every NFL football team name. Overall team records, also included, are reflective of NFL regular-season games. There are some football teams with well-known nicknames—the Jets, for instance, are often referred to as Gang Green—but we also divulge how some teams’ official names are sparingly used (the Jets’ neighbors, the Giants, are actually known as the New York Football Giants). Sometimes a team name can tell you a lot about local history: The Vikings of Minnesota draw upon the area’s strong ties to Scandinavia, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are dripping in local legend related to Florida’s pirate past.

Let’s kick off the countdown with the folks who earned their nickname by buying boxes of used team jerseys.