Mike Tice

Michael Peter Tice (born February 2, 1959 in Bayshore, New York) is an American football National Football League coach, best known as the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. He is currently the Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends for the Jacksonville Jaguars. During his tenure with the Vikings, Tice was the tallest coach in the NFL, standing at 6' 8".

Biography

Playing career

Tice attended the University of Maryland, College Park where he played quarterback. He played tight end in the National Football League from 1981 to 1995 with the Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings.

Coaching career

Minnesota Vikings

He was the offensive line coach for the Vikings prior to becoming the head coach. Tice took over head coaching duties on an interim basis for the final game of the 2001 season, replacing Dennis Green, and then was officially named head coach on January 10, 2002. He became the sixth head coach in team history and the first former Viking player to assume the role.

In March 2005, the NFL began to investigate Tice for organizing and profiting from a Super Bowl ticket scalping operation within the Vikings organization. He later admitted that these charges were true and the NFL fined him $100,000 on June 30, 2005. It was the largest fine ever handed down to a head coach in NFL history until New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 for having a team video assistant film the New York Jets' defensive signals. During the 2005 season, Tice was the lowest-paid head coach in the NFL.

Tice's contract with the Minnesota Vikings was allowed to expire after last game of the 2005 season on January 1, 2006. The Vikings had just defeated the Chicago Bears but had failed to get into the playoffs. The team's loss to the Baltimore Ravens, which eliminated the Vikings from any possible playoff spot, effectively sealed Tice's fate. This was a twist of fate, as Tice's first game as a head coach came against the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, when Spergon Wynn quarterbacked the team to a 19-3 loss. During his tenure of more than four years as the Vikings head coach, he had a regular season record of 32-33-0, while going 1-1 in the playoffs. Tice had regretted that he had not had a chance to directly tell his wife, who was already addressing rumors in the parking lot following the Vikings victory.

Jacksonville Jaguars

He was hired as Assistant Head Coach/Offense of Jacksonville by Jack Del Rio, another former Viking.

Personal life

Mike Tice is the older brother of John Tice, also a former tight end at the University of Maryland, who played ten seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints. John was an assistant coach for the Vikings in Mike's tenure. Mike Tice's sister-in-law is married to the cartoonist Peter Bagge.