It was only a matter of time until word of a potential contract extension for Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress would leak out, given that he’s in the fourth year of a five-year contract.

For whatever reason, sports contracts need attention at least a year before they expire (see Joe Mauer) so that one of the parties doesn’t look disloyal. Very rarely do you see any coach serve out the last year of a contract without the next one in place.

Childress has been the most polarizing coach in franchise history, and the thought of Childress getting another contract is enough to make some Vikings fans excited and others nauseous. Everybody loved Dennis Green until he took a knee in the ’98 NFC Championship game, and his public perception declined steadily thereafter, often because of off-the-field issues.

People loved Mike Tice, though he appeared overwhelmed at times as a head coach. Toward the end, fans seemed OK that he wouldn’t be retained.

This is Childress’ fourth season as the Vikings coach, and fans were excited with how owner Zygi Wilf chose and pursued Childress so that no other team had a chance to hire him. Once he got here, however, his apparent arrogance and stubbornness was a turnoff, especially given that he had no prior experience as a head coach.

The team went from nine wins in Tice’s last season to six in Childress’ debut, and the fans soured on Childress’ conservative offense, though he clearly didn’t have the talent to do much else.

The next season, the Vikings won eight games, then 10 last season, which appeased some fans but didn’t have much affect on those who didn’t like him.

This season, it still seems as though he’s not universally accepted. Some of his game-management decisions remain baffling, but the team is winning, though it should be noted that if Red McCombs had brought in as much talent as Wilf did, Tice would have been a much more successful coach.

Sometime over the next couple of months, Wilf will have to decide if Childress is a long-term answer as the coach. There was never a chance he was going to be fired in these first four seasons, and it appears that Wilf made a good choice, bailing out Childress’ major failing by getting Brett Favre to play here. As Childress has become more comfortable as the coach, the results have been better.

It’s hard to believe that Childress won’t return for a fifth season, especially if the team continues to do so well. And given the talent that Wilf has brought here, you can’t see this team falling short of expectations for the next couple of seasons.

It’s safe to say that a contract extension will be applauded by some and will anger others. That’s what makes Childress so polarizing, which isn’t likely to change for the next three or four seasons.

Chad Courrier is a Free Press staff writer. To contact him, call 507-344-6353 or e-mail at ccourrier@mankatofreepress.com.