It’s January, and it’s a time of change on at least two fronts in the sporting world. It’s the end of the football season and the NFL is in full swing with its annual coaching shuffle. We’re also just weeks away from the start of the first-ever live version of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour pro bass-fishing season on TV.
What do these two seemingly unrelated phenomena have in common? FLW Outdoors has found a way to capitalize on their timing.
Dennis Green, the 10-year head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, has put down the playbook and picked up his fishing pole. He has signed on as a TV personality with “FLW Outdoors,” the new, live outdoors program on PAX TV that plays home to the high-profile Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the world’s richest professional bass-fishing tournament circuit.
Much public speculation surrounds the job prospects for available NFL head coaches at the end of the season – especially coaches like Green, who amassed a respectable 97-62 win-loss record during his tenure with the Vikings and who is a hot commodity in the NFL right now, both on the field and in the broadcast booth. But at least for the moment, Green has opted out of football and into the world of competitive fishing.
Dennis Green and competitive fishing – it’s not as farfetched a marriage as it might seem. He has been angling almost as long as he’s been in football – if not longer. From his days as a kid snagging smallmouth with his brothers on the banks of Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River to off-season bucketmouth-bagging trips to Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, Green is as avid a bass fisherman as they come. For the last 10 years when the ice was out in Minnesota, Green would be out on Lake Minnetonka in the early-morning hours at least three or four times a week – even during the football season.
“It’s relaxing,” he says. “And it’s my passion.”
No stranger to competitive fishing, Green has hosted local bass tournaments in Minnesota and looks to bring a lot to the table for FLW Outdoors. His visibility, fishing know-how and intimate knowledge of the nature of competition can only add to the sport, which is already one of the fastest-growing activities in the country.
So when Green – who is a close friend of FLW Outdoors Chairman Irwin Jacobs from the days when Jacobs was part owner of the Vikings – found himself with some time off this year, he decided to go fishing. And why not? What else is free time is for?
Green’s outdoor sports television debut is Saturday, Jan. 19, at 3 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 2 p.m. Central and Mountain on PAX TV when he will join host Carlton Wing for the inaugural episode of “FLW Outdoors” from the studio in Little Rock, Ark. The show, scheduled for 27 episodes in 2002, will run every Saturday on PAX at the same time throughout the season.
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FLWOutdoors.com: First of all, it would seem you’re a wanted man in the NFL at the moment. Why choose bass fishing?
Green: I’m thinking that I’m ready for it right now. You know, I’ve always had a great love for fishing. That’s what I’ve always done since I was a young guy. I’m anticipating the opportunity now to team up with FLW Outdoors where there’s so much excitement going on. I mean, there are 55 million people who participate in fishing. And I’m one of those 55 million, so I’m pretty excited about this opportunity.
FLWOutdoors.com: What will you bring to the table for fishing fans?
Green: I think the big thing is that I will be like them. You know, there are some great anglers who are pros and they’re fantastic. Then there are the pro-amateurs. Then there’s the everyday fishing guy, and that’s who I’ll be. I’ll be the guy who can do interviews with the celebrities. I’ll be the one who can do interviews with the tournament anglers. And I’ll be the guy, when people watch fishing, they’ll recognize very quickly that here’s a guy who loves to fish, but he is not a pro. And that’s me.
FLWOutdoors.com: How many shows will you be doing?
Green: I’m not sure yet. Carlton (Wing, host of “FLW Outdoors”) and I have not zeroed in on that. We’ll start with the launch of the show, and I’m really looking forward to that on the 19th down in Little Rock, Ark. And then we’ll just have to see how it works out. You know, I’m still pretty busy this week. There are a lot of projects that I’m looking forward to doing, but this is at the top of the list.
FLWOutdoors.com: What should we expect from the first show Jan. 19?
Green: Whatever the show is. I will be in Little Rock and, whatever the show format’s going to be, I’ll be an active participant.
FLWOutdoors.com: What about your TV broadcasting experience?
Green: I’ve done quite a bit. I did a lot of it when I was in the college game. I’ve done college bowl games, like the Aloha Bowl. So I’ve done quite a bit in football. Of course, I do a lot of talking when I fish, so this ought to be right up my alley.
FLWOutdoors.com: So, about your other prospects, do you have anything lined up on the football side of things yet?
Green: (My family and I) are in great shape, we really are. We’re not going to reveal anything yet. I’ve done a lot of interviews over the years and all the appropriate people have always given me every indication that, when I was ready, they would be ready.
FLWOutdoors.com: What are your prospects as a TV football analyst in addition to FLW Outdoors?
Green: I think I will probably still do NFL football, but that won’t start until July. So I think the opportunity to do this now is one that I did not want to pass up. And I think it goes hand in hand. The football season starts preseason games in August and I think I will be doing NFL reporting by then. Until then, (“FLW Outdoors”) will be a very creative studio show. Plus, the chance to go fishing – and I will be doing a lot of fishing – and to get out and go to some of the great tournaments that we’re having, I don’t think you can beat it.
Related links:
In the Spotlight: Mean Green fishing machine (first published Jan. 12, 2001)
FLW Tour coverage begins on PAX Jan. 19
Q-and-A with Carlton Wing part one and part two