“Thanks to the Wilfs, we were able to offer the $49 million it was going to take. Then Rob wrote the contract with clauses that made it impossible for Seattle to match — ‘The team had to play eight games in Minneapolis,’ stuff like that.
“Mike Holmgren was in Seattle. I get a call. The phone says, ‘Mike Holmgren.’ I answer it, ‘Hey, Mike, what’s up?’ He says, ‘I just want to tell you as a friend, you don’t want to do this. The other teams are very upset. The Board of Governors is not happy with the Vikings.’
“He was right, but we got Steve Hutchinson … a great player at guard, and with exactly the talent and mindset you want on the offensive line.”
It was Hutchinson the Hall of Fame sent to Allen’s home to tell Jared he would be announced as a Hall of Famer on Thursday night.
Childress on Allen: “Jared had a couple of incidents in his past. I’m not sure he had a driver’s license when he got to Minnesota. But why the Chiefs wouldn’t pay a pass rusher like him, I have no idea. Again, the Wilfs came through for us.
“You need leaders on both ends of the spectrum. That was Hutch and Jared. Hutch was meanness, toughness. Jared was a free spirit. And they became the best of friends.”