The Viking Age » hall-of-fame

Chris Doleman is Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Dan Zinski — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:00:33 +0000

Chris Doleman has his bust in Canton alongside the other greats of NFL history, including his Vikings teammates John Randle and Randall McDaniel. Chris was introduced at Canton Saturday night by his son Evan and went on to give a heartfelt speech, thanking numerous people and institutions including Zygi Wilf and the current Vikings organization. He also took a moment to remember former GM Mike Lynn who recently passed away. A full transcript of Doleman’s speech can be found here. Video here.

After a stellar career at Pitt, Doleman was drafted by the Vikings with the 4th overall pick in 1985. He was installed as a pass rushing OLB in the Vikings’ 3-4 scheme, recording his first half-sack against the Packers on November 10th, 1985. When the Vikes went 4-3 Doleman was moved to defensive end…and the rest is history. Chris grew into one of the great sack artists in NFL history, finishing his career with 150 1/2, including 21 in 1989. Doleman made his first Pro Bowl in 1987 and would return 7 more times, the last in 1997 as a member of the 49ers. He would be selected to 3 All-Pro teams and would be named a member of the NFL’s official all-decade team for the ’90s.

The Vikings had two periods of dominance on the defensive line, first with Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and the Purple People Eater gang, then again in the late ’80s and early ’90s with Doleman, Keith Millard, Henry Thomas and a little later John Randle. If you’re a Viking fan who grew to love the team in either of those eras, you love defensive line play and you love sack artists like Chris Doleman. Defensive line IS the identity of the Minnesota Vikings as a franchise and Doleman is one of the men who forged that identity. He was, quite simply, a bad-ass crusher of quarterbacks.

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John Randle Gives a Touching Hall-of-Fame Speech (Video)

Dan Zinski — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 11:02:50 +0000

Congrats to John Randle on his induction into the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame. I was hoping he’d drop a “Big dog’s in the house” into the speech, but he decided to go the soft-spoken and humble route, which is okay too.

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John Teerlinck Will Present John Randle at the Hall of Fame

Dan Zinski — Wed, 12 May 2010 18:18:03 +0000

John Randle became an All-Pro defensive tackle, and ultimately a Hall-of-Famer, thanks in part to the tutelage of defensive line coach John Teerlinck.

In gratitude for Teerlinck’s inestimable contribution to his success, Randle has chosen his former mentor to present him for induction at this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony.

“I’ve been an assistant coach for 22 years,” Teerlinck said of the news. “I’ve coached in 31 playoff games, six championships, and four Super Bowls. This tops them all. This is the biggest honor for an assistant coach.”

Randle goes into the Hall on August 7, alongside fellow greats Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Russ Grimm, Dick LeBeau, Rickey Jackson and Floyd Little.

But not former teammate Cris Carter who – inexplicably – is still waiting for his call.