Tice, 6-foot-7, has a public image of being a fun-loving, big galoot. He frequented a suburban watering hole where a parking space was reserved just for him. But Dalton said Tice was a micro-manager who drilled down into details and that was part of the reason for his success.
It’s true, though, that Tice knew how to have some laughs, including with the team. One year in celebration of Halloween he came out to meet his players at practice dressed up like controversial wide receiver Randy Moss.
Birk remembered the spoof. “That was the thing about Mike, too,” Birk said. “Him being a player, and then later a coach, he realized you gotta have some fun, and kinda do something off the wall just to keep everybody loose and smiling.”
Birk was asked for a similar story to the Moss anecdote. “Yeah, but you probably can’t print most of the stuff that Mike did or said,” Birk said. “It was R rated.”
Down in Jacksonville they could be wondering if Tice will be having much fun at season’s end. The Jags are 4-6 and have lost three of their last five games. Head coach Jack Del Rio, a Vikings player from 1992-95, has been criticized for awhile now and could be dismissed before next year.
But that’s the nature of professional football. Mike Tice knows that.