When the 1983 season concluded, the Minnesota Vikings were seven years removed from their last of four Super Bowl appearances in an eight-season span. They had missed the playoffs in three out of five seasons, and one of those playoff appearances was during the strike-shortened 1982 campaign.
Bud Grant was the second head coach in Vikings' history, taking over from Norm Van Brocklin in 1967. But it was time for a change after that 1983 campaign, and he retired.
Grant was replaced by Les Steckel, who had been the Vikings' wide receivers coach for the previous five seasons. Long-time offensive coordinator Jerry Burns seemed to be a better choice to succeed Grant, but maybe Burns didn't want the pressure attached to replacing a legend.
The 38-year old Steckel became the youngest head coach in the NFL. His time as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines included serving in Vietnam, and he tried to be a staunch disciplinarian in his first opportunity to be a head coach.
Worst head coach in Minnesota Vikings' history is blatantly obvious
The first game of the Steckel era, a 42-13 home loss to the San Diego Chargers, wound up foreshadowing what was to come. The Vikings started 0-2 before evening up their record with back-to-back wins, but it was all downhill from there.
The Vikings would lose 11 of their last 12 games to finish 3-13 in 1984. Five of their final six losses coming by at least 21 points was the clearest sign Steckel had lost his team, if his message ever really reached them to begin with.
The 484 points the Vikings allowed in 1984 still stands as the most points allowed in a season in franchise history, and it was the most points any team in the NFL allowed between the 1983 and 2000 seasons. The offense wasn't a whole lot better, averaging 17.3 points per game (24th in a 28-team league then), with Tommy Kramer, Wade Wilson and Archie Manning (!) each starting multiple games under center.
Steckel was of course fired after that disastrous 3-13 campaign, but only after he refused to resign.
"He refused to resign", Vikings general manager Mike Lynn said. "Consequently, we have terminated Les and his staff."
Steckel's staff had a lot of holdovers from Grant's staff, and Burns had announced his resignation before the season ended. In his comments about the firing Lynn made if clear no one should be ruled out as a candidate to be the next head coach, including Grant, who was still on the Vikings' payroll as a consultant, and Burns.
Indeed, Grant came back to be the Vikings' head coach for one season in 1985. Burns came back to be his offensive coordinator, then he became the Vikings' head coach in 1986 and held the post for six seasons.
Steckel made multiple stops as an assistant coach over the better part of the following 19 seasons (1985-2003), mostly in the NFL, so things worked out fine for him. But his one season as the Vikings' head coach, and his only season as a head coach, was such an abject disaster that Vikings' fans of a certain age still utter his name with a derisive tone.