Bud, the Other Side of the Glacier

The subtitle of this biography of Minnesota Vikings longtime coach Harry ""Bud'' Grant is somewhat misleading. Televiewers of pro football games grew accustomed to seeing Grant on the sidelines, stoic, unflappable and impassive, even at moments of great tension. Here former Viking staff-member McGrane, now a publicist for the Chicago Bears, reveals the private Grant: stoic, unflappable, impassive. A multitalented athlete in his native Superior, Wis., and at the University of Minnesota, Grant played pro basketball before he came to pro football. At age 29, he was named coach of the Winnipeg team of the Canadian Football League and led them to the championship several times. In 1966, he became coach of the Vikings, with whom he stayed until 1983, taking them unsuccessfully to the Super Bowl four times. He resigned after the 1983 season, sat out a year, returned to the team for 1985 and has announced that he is retiring again. A low-key coach, concerned about his players as people, Grant has obviously been effective, but his personality is not the stuff of exciting biography. Photos. (June 18