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Provided by copyright (c)1997 Associated Press
TUESDAY 10/28/97  3:56:00
^Tagliabue directs Green, Vikings to make up<
^By RON LESKO=
^AP Sports Writer=
   EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) _ NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue hopes
a long telephone conversation with Dennis Green was enough to quiet
Green's broiling feud with the Minnesota Vikings owners.
   The commissioner talked with Green for the first time Monday
since Green's threat to sue for control of the team was revealed
late last week. Tagliabue also talked again with Vikings president
Roger Headrick.
   Although Tagliabue has the power to delegate punishment or hand
down binding decisions in such situations, he stopped short of
either step _ at least for now.
   Tagliabue told Green and Headrick they needed to settle the
dispute quickly and quietly in-house or he would get involved more
formally, an ominous proposition for both sides.
   ``We're not at that point, and hope we won't be,'' said league
spokesman Greg Aiello.
   Headrick said he believed the commissioner planned to ask Green
to make a statement, either publicly or in private to the owners,
that would diffuse the controversy. Aiello couldn't say whether
Tagliabue had asked Green to make such a statement.
   Headrick, who has been Green's biggest supporter among the 10
principal owners, indicated the owners might meet this week, either
in person or in teleconference, to discuss the situation as a group
for the first time.
   ``I presume both sides want to resolve this quickly,
satisfactorily and in the best interest of the club,'' Headrick
said.
   Green stunned the Vikings and the league with the release of his
autobiography, ``No Room for Crybabies.'' In it he presented a
detailed plan in which he could either buy majority control in the
Vikings or sue two owners to reach that end.
   Green backpedaled after Sunday's victory at Tampa Bay, saying he
was only ``thinking out loud'' when he wrote the final chapter of
his book. He denied his plan should be considered a threat to the
owners.
   Green refused to discuss the book or its implications Monday,
saying only that no one had discussed his job status with him since
the book came out.
   Headrick did discuss Green's job status, though, saying the
coach was secure through the season. Green has one more year left
on his contract after this one with a guaranteed $900,000 salary.
   ``I don't think (Green's job status) is being disputed by
anybody,'' Headrick said.
   The entire controversy came at an awkward time for the Vikings
(6-2), who have won four straight and are tied with Green Bay for
first in the NFC Central.
   Green is liked and respected by his players. Linebacker Jeff
Brady acknowledged there was uncertainty in the locker room about
Green's immediate future, although Headrick quieted those fears.
   ``He's just trying to protect himself and be a businessman,''
Brady said of Green. ``My personal opinion is you all are
underestimating Denny Green. He's got more up his sleeve than what
everybody thinks.''
   Green said Sunday that the details of a possible takeover were
meant to force change in the Vikings' unusual ownership structure.
Instead of having 10 principal owners with equal shares _ Headrick
said each own nearly 10 percent _ the NFL wants one owner with at
least a 30-percent stake.
   However, the league has allowed the Vikings to put off that
action until they resolve their stadium uncertainty. The team
contends it cannot survive financially in the Metrodome and needs
more revenue _ through renovation, renegotiated leases or both _ or
it could move elsewhere.
   On Sunday, one owner who asked to remain anonymous told the
Saint Paul Pioneer Press that four owners wanted Green fired, three
wanted to keep the coach and three wouldn't commit because they
feared Green would sue.
   Owner Jaye Dyer said Monday that he and his colleagues have not
conferred about Green's status since the book came out.
   ``I don't have a clue where that came from,'' Dyer said of the
breakdown. ``It's never been addressed at the board. It's obviously
somebody's best guess, but I don't know how they're counting the
house.''