Dennis Green and wife Marie when he was hired to coach the Arizona Cardinals in 2004. (Getty)
Dennis Green, the former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals head coach, died on Friday at age 67 after suffering a cardiac arrest. Green is survived by his wife, Marie, and their two teenage children, Zachary and Vanessa. Green also has an adult son and daughter.
“Dennis passed away last night from complications of cardiac arrest. His family was by his side and he fought hard,” Green’s family said in a statement to the NFL.
Here’s a look at Green’s family.
1. Green & Marie Had Been Married since 1995 & Met on a Vikings Team Charter
Marie and Dennis Green, with son Zach in 2004. (Getty)
In a 2011 interview with Fine Homes and Living, Marie explained how the couple met when she was working as a flight attendant on a Vikings team charter flight. When she asked for tickets to the next game, Green said told her they’d have to go out for lunch. She went on to ask him to appear at the Special Olympics, since her brother Jim was competing. He began helping her family out.
“After spending so much time with Dennis as a friend, I realized he was ‘The One’ and luckily he felt the same way. To this day, he is still the most generous person I have ever met,” Marie said. The couple married in 1995.
2. Marie Is a Stylist & Wrote a Fashion Column
Dennis Green in 2006. (Getty)
Marie is a stylist and wrote a syndicated fashion column called “Fashion Focus with Marie Green,” which started in March 2007. She also has a website. Her specialty is image consulting.
“I’ve had a ‘passion for fashion’ since I can remember,” Marie told KPBS. “My mother was in the fashion industry and started taking me to fashion shows when I was only four years old. As a teen, I modeled in many shows and worked in retail. In adulthood, my skills as a stylist developed. I love working with women and helping them feel great while achieving a fashion forward look.”
3. Marie Called Green a ‘Master Strategist’ Who Is ‘Very Inspirational’ and ‘Motivating’
Dennis Green in 2001. (Getty)
Marie and Green moved to San Diego in 2002. Last year, they opened their home to Ranch & Coast. In the profile, Marie said that her husband is still a “master strategist,” even in retirement.
“He is very inspirational, very motivating. He makes people want to go out and just get it done,” Marie said of Green.
After he retired from coaching, Green worked as a broadcaster and wrote the book No Room For Crybabies. He also actively supported Boys & Girls Clubs, since they were influential in his life growing up. He served on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Minneapolis and San Dieguito.
4. Zach & Vanessa Are Also Into Sports, but not Football
Dennis Green in 1999. (Getty)
Both Vanessa and Zach are following their father into the sports world, but neither are interested in football. Vanessa plays volleyball at Cathedral Catholic High School, playing on two state championship teams. Zach plays basketball and is interested in coaching.
The recruiting service Full-Time Hoops tweeted on July 6, 2016 that Zach “has what can only be described as ‘special’ athleticism. His ball skills are catching up.”
Zach Green, son of former NFL Coach Dennis Green, has what can only be described as “special” athleticism. His ball skills are catching up
“My kids, Vanessa and Zachary, inspire me every day,” Green told the Del Mar Times in 2011.
5. Green Had Two Children With His First Wife
Dennis Green in 2006. (Getty)
According to a 1992 Sports Illustrated profile, Green married his first wife, Margie Shindler, at age 18. The two were high school sweethearts and they had a son, Jeremy, and daughter, Patti.
Jeremy also worked in football as a scout before he worked for ESPN as an NFL analyst. He pleaded guilty to drug and child pornography charges in 2011 and received a five-year prison sentence and 10 years of probation.