1989 Minnesota Vikings season

Minnesota Vikings
1989 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Jerry Burns
General manager	Mike Lynn
Home field	Metrodome
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost NFC Divisional Playoff (at 49ers) 13–41

The 1989 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 29th in the National Football League. They finished with a 10–6 record to win the NFC Central Division. This title was secured during one of what is considered by many to be among the most exciting Monday Night Football contests ever: a Christmas Day victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at home, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which was the de facto first playoff game of the year. This season was also notable by how many sacks the defense produced, with 39 coming from only two players (Chris Doleman and Keith Millard) and 71 overall. Millard would later receive Defensive Player of the Year honors after putting up record numbers by a defensive tackle. The Vikings were once again embarrassed by the defending Super Bowl champion 49ers in the divisional round, losing 41–13.

Offseason

1989 Draft

1989 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	24	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers^[a]
2	52	David Braxton	Linebacker	Wake Forest
3	80	John Hunter	Offensive tackle	Brigham Young
4	108	Darryl Ingram	Tight end	California
5	136	Pick forfeited during 1988 Supplemental Draft^[b]
6	163	Jeff Mickel	Offensive tackle	Eastern Washington
7	191	Benji Roland	Defensive end	Auburn
8	219	Alex Stewart	Defensive end	Cal State Fullerton
9	247	Traded to the New England Patriots^[c]
10	275	Traded to the Miami Dolphins^[d]
11	303	Brad Baxter	Running back	Alabama State
12	331	Shawn Woodson	Linebacker	James Madison
12	335	Everett Ross	Wide receiver	Ohio State	from 49ers via Raiders^[c]

^{^[a]} The Vikings traded their first-round selection (24th overall) to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for LB Mike Merriweather.

^{^[b]} The Vikings forfeited their fifth-round selection (136th overall) after selecting defensive back Ryan Bethea in the fifth round of the 1988 NFL Supplemental Draft.

^{^[c]} The Vikings traded their ninth-round selection (247th overall) to the New England Patriots in exchange for New England's 1988 11th-round selection (296th overall).

^{^[d]} The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (275th overall) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for OL Greg Koch.

^{^[e]} The Vikings traded their 1990 11th-round selection to the Los Angeles Raiders in exchange for the 12th-round selection the Raiders received from the San Francisco 49ers.

Staff

**1989 Minnesota Vikings staff**

	Front office President – Wheelock Whitney, Jr. General manager – Mike Lynn Head coaches Head coach – Jerry Burns Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Bob Schnelker Assistant offensive coordinator/passing game – Dick Rehbein Running backs – John Brunner Wide Receivers – Jerry Brown Offensive line – John Michels			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Floyd Peters Defensive line – Paul Wiggin Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Defensive backs – Pete Carroll Special teams coaches Special teams/Tight Ends – Tom Batta

[1]

Roster

**1989 Minnesota Vikings final roster**

	Quarterbacks 16 Rich Gannon 9 Tommy Kramer 11 Wade Wilson Running backs 46 Alfred Anderson FB 32 Rick Bayless 33 Jessie Clark 42 D. J. Dozier 31 Rick Fenney FB 20 Darrin Nelson 34 Herschel Walker Wide receivers 81 Anthony Carter 80 Jim Gustafson 84 Hassan Jones 87 Leo Lewis PR Tight ends 82 Carl Hilton 86 Darryl Ingram 83 Steve Jordan 85 Brent Novoselsky		Offensive linemen 68 John Adickes C 62 Chris Foote C 74 Brian Habib G 72 Dave Huffman G 76 Tim Irwin T 69 Todd Kalis G 63 Kirk Lowdermilk C 64 Randall McDaniel G 65 Gary Zimmerman T Defensive linemen 71 Ken Clarke DT 56 Chris Doleman DE 79 Doug Martin DE 75 Keith Millard DT 96 Tim Newton DT 99 Al Noga DE 94 Thomas Strauthers DE 97 Henry Thomas DT		Linebackers 50 Ray Berry OLB 53 David Braxton 59 Mark Dusbabek OLB 90 John Galvin 51 David Howard 57 Mike Merriweather OLB 54 Jesse Solomon 55 Scott Studwell MLB Defensive backs 44 Michael Brim CB 47 Joey Browner SS 49 Travis Curtis FS 27 Brad Edwards FS 29 Darrell Fullington FS 30 Issiac Holt 22 Ken Johnson CB 39 Carl Lee CB 26 Audray McMillian CB 48 Reggie Rutland CB 25 Daryl Smith CB Special teams 2 Teddy Garcia K 3 Rich Karlis K 60 Mark Rodenhauser LS 13 Bucky Scribner P		Reserve lists 36 Allen Rice RB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics 58 active, 1 inactive, 0 practice squad

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance[2]
1	August 12	vs Kansas City Chiefs	W 23–13	1–0	Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN)	63,528
2	August 21	Washington Redskins	W 24–13	2–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	50,213
3	August 26	at Los Angeles Rams	L 14–24	2–1	Anaheim Stadium	45,087
4	September 1	Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–10	3–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	49,867

Regular season

The defensive line of Chris Doleman, Keith Millard, Al Noga and Henry Thomas were key contributors in helping the Vikings rank number one in the NFL in total defense. In addition, the Vikings set a franchise record with 71 sacks in one season. Chris Doleman had 21 sacks and was one shy of tying the NFL record.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 10	Houston Oilers	W 38–7	1–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	54,015
2	September 17	at Chicago Bears	L 7–38	1–1	Soldier Field	66,475
3	September 24	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 14–27	1–2	Three Rivers Stadium	50,744
4	October 1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–3	2–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	54,817
5	October 8	Detroit Lions	W 24–17	3–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	55,380
6	October 15	Green Bay Packers	W 26–14	4–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	62,075
7	October 22	at Detroit Lions	W 20–7	5–2	Silverdome	51,579
8	October 30	at New York Giants	L 14–24	5–3	Giants Stadium	76,041
9	November 5	Los Angeles Rams	W 23–21 (OT)	6–3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	59,600
10	November 12	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 24–10	7–3	Tampa Stadium	56,271
11	November 19	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 9–10	7–4	Veterans Stadium	65,944
12	November 26	at Green Bay Packers	L 19–20	7–5	Milwaukee County Stadium	55,592
13	December 3	Chicago Bears	W 27–16	8–5	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	60,664
14	December 10	Atlanta Falcons	W 43–17	9–5	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	58,116
15	December 17	at Cleveland Browns	L 17–23 (OT)	9–6	Cleveland Stadium	70,777
16	December 25	Cincinnati Bengals	W 29–21	10–6	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	58,829

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings⁽³⁾	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	362	356	W1
Green Bay Packers	10	6	0	.625	5–3	10–4	362	275	W2
Detroit Lions	7	9	0	.438	4–4	6–6	312	364	W5
Chicago Bears	6	10	0	.375	2–6	4–8	358	377	L6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	3–5	5–7	320	419	L4

Postseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Wild Card	First-round bye
Divisional	January 6	at San Francisco 49ers (1)	L 13–41	0–1	Candlestick Park	64,585

Herschel Walker

In 1989, at the height of his NFL career, the Cowboys traded Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a total of five players (LB Jesse Solomon, DB Issiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, LB David Howard, DE Alex Stewart) and six draft picks (which led to Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, and Darren Woodson). This was judged to be one of the turning points in the rise of the Cowboys to the top echelon of the NFL. Walker's trade was widely perceived as an exceptionally poor move considering what the Vikings had to give up in order to get him, and remains one of the most frequently vilified roster moves of the team's history. The Vikings coaches reluctantly accepted Walker after the trade and never totally used the tool they had been given. Scout.com says, "Walker was never used properly by the coaching brain trust (a total oxymoron in this case)".[3]

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Wade Wilson	2,543
Passing touchdowns	Wade Wilson	9
Rushing yards	Herschel Walker	669
Rushing touchdowns	Herschel Walker	5
Receiving yards	Anthony Carter	1,066
Receiving touchdowns	Anthony Carter	4
Points	Rich Karlis	120
Kickoff return yards	Herschel Walker	374
Punt return yards	Leo Lewis	446
Tackles	Chris Doleman Henry Thomas	94
Sacks	Chris Doleman	21.0
Interceptions	Joey Browner	5
Forced fumbles	Chris Doleman	5

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	3,189	199.3	17th
Rushing offense	2,066	129.1	7th
Total offense	5,255	328.4	14th
Passing defense	2,501	156.3	1st
Rushing defense	1,683	105.2	11th
Total defense	4,184	261.5	1st

Awards and records

Keith Millard – NFL Defensive Player of the Year (AP, UPI, PFWA)
Chris Doleman – NFL sacks leader (21.0)
Randall McDaniel – NFC Pro Bowl selection

Milestones

Chris Doleman, third player in NFL history to reach 20 sacks in a season
Chris Doleman, franchise record, 21 sacks

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References

2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
"History: Walker Trade". Scout.com. June 20, 2001. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved January 29, 2008.

External links

Vikings on Pro-Football-Reference.com

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.

[3] "History: Walker Trade". Scout.com. June 20, 2001. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved January 29, 2008.

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Minnesota Vikings
Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft Players First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft Broadcasters
Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium
Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" Herschel Walker trade Love Boat scandal "Little Minnesota" (How I Met Your Mother episode) Cheerleaders
Lore	The Wrong Way Run Hail Mary Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Miracle at the Met Gary Anderson's missed field goal 2010 Metrodome roof collapse Minneapolis Miracle
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers
Division championships (20)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015 2017
Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976
League championships (1)	1969
Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division
Seasons (59)	1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Championship seasons in bold