Vikings coach 'deals' with another loss

With his football team's playoff chances sinking with almost every passing week, Brad Childress' days as its head coach might be plummeting at an even faster rate.

After the Bears beat Childress' disappointing Minnesota Vikings 27-13 at Soldier Field on Sunday, speculation that Childress would lose his job, perhaps as soon as Monday, picked up steam.

It was not a happy homecoming for the Aurora native and Marmion Academy graduate, who watched his Vikings fall to 3-6. If not for a dramatic, late rally against Arizona that led to an overtime win the previous week, Minnesota would be on a four-game losing streak.

The Vikings host Green Bay on Sunday.

Asked how he will deal with what will likely be more speculation about his job security, Childress didn't hesitate to answer the question.

“You deal with it,” he said. “It's not something you're happy to deal with, but you deal with what's out there. My name's behind the Vikings team, and it all starts with me. So if it gets directed there, that's part of the equation.”

And as to whether he's confident he still will be coaching the Vikings against the Packers on Sunday?

“Until I get told anything differently, yeah,” Childress said.

The Vikings would have to win their remaining seven games to finish with 10 victories, which almost certainly would secure a playoff berth. Realistically, they can afford to lose only one more game maybe two.

Childress wasn't doing any calculations, however.

“It's too crazy of a league to get into the prediction business,” he said.

The only certainty is that Sunday's loss to the Bears, who visit Minnesota on Dec. 20, is in the past.

“It's just like I told (the players) coming out in the second half, ‘Our focus has to be on what's directly in front of us,'” Childress said. “We're the best when we're that way.

“We weren't able to get done what we needed to get done today, but all of our focus has to go to Green Bay. We can't worry about all the other eventualities in the NFL.”