following the minnesota vikings' admission to the national football league, there were ultimately two candidates for the position of head coach: philadelphia eagles quarterback norm van brocklin and winnipeg blue bombers head coach bud grant. van brocklin was favored by three of the vikings' five board members, and after discussions with the franchise management on january 18, van brocklin signed an initial three-year contract and was appointed as head coach on january 18, 1961. in van brocklin's first season in charge of the vikings, the team won just three of their 14 games, a record that got worse before it got better. the team had a record of 2–11–1 in van brocklin's second season as head coach, but improved to 8–5–1 in the 1964 season. however, this was not enough to reach the nfl championship game as the team finished tied for second place in the western conference.