1999 record: 10-6, second in the NFC Central (wild card).

Last five years: 51-29 in the regular season.

Coach: Dennis Green (81-47 in eight years with the Vikings)

Playoff past: The Vikings have been regular playoff participants under Green, making it in seven of his eight seasons. They've won playoff games in each of the past three seasons. But on the brink of the Super Bowl two seasons ago, they collapsed. As preseason Super Bowl favorites last season, they didn't make it to the conference title game. After the NFL/AFL merger, the Vikings became known for Super Bowl failures, appearing in four of the first 11 games, losing all of them.

Outlook

News flash to owner Red McCombs: the Vikings have already moved --- down in the esteem of football fans.

A year ago, they were Super Bowl favorites. On the first day of training camp, the excitement was palpable when fans lined up four and five deep along a fence where the players made their way from the practice field to the locker room. Given the expectations, the Vikings were a big disappointment, going 10-6 and not making it back to the NFC title game. Tales of acrimony among coaches and players followed.

Daunte Culpepper can run as well as pass for the Vikings.(AP)

Now the Vikings look like a shell of last year's team, complete with new coordinators on offense and defense. And McCombs is still giving the public the hard sell on building him a new stadium.

Dennis Green is a proven coach, but his moves as head of personnel have left people wondering what will become of this team.

Green passed on a chance to keep quarterback Jeff George, losing him to Washington. Randall Cunningham was released. That leaves Daunte Culpepper as the starter in his second season after taking six snaps and throwing zero passes as a rookie. It helps more than a little to have receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss -- combined receptions last season: 170 -- but somebody has to get them the ball. Culpepper's preseason debut was encouraging. Let's see where he's at in November.

Elsewhere on the offense, the Vikings lost two Pro Bowl players from their line, center Jeff Christy and guard Randall McDaniel, both to division rival Tampa Bay.

The defense ranked 30th against the pass last year.

The Vikings' additions? No starters. Just a lot of backups, including quarterback Bubby Brister.

Green and his new coordinators -- Sherman Lewis on offense and Emmitt Thomas on defense, both from Green Bay --- have lots of work ahead.

But at least there aren't any of those nasty Super Bowl expectations hanging over them.

Schedule preview: Culpepper will open with a pair of home games, Chicago and Miami. After a road game at New England, the Vikings have a bye. After that, a critical stretch of the schedule begins. The Vikings play five of six games against teams from the NFC Central. Four of those five games are on the road. The end of the season doesn't look promising. Two of the final three games are at St. Louis and at Indianapolis (the season finale). The Vikings play on Thanksgiving at Dallas. They also have the league maximum of four night games.

1999 offensive ranking: No. 3 overall, No. 14 rushing, No. 5 passing.

1999 defensive ranking: No. 27 overall, No. 14 vs. the rush, No. 30 vs. the pass.

Key players lost from 1999: QB Randall Cunningham (Dallas), QB Jeff George (Washington), WR Jake Reed (New Orleans), C Jeff Christy (Tampa Bay), G Randall McDaniel (Tampa Bay), DE Duane Clemons (Kansas City), CB Jimmy Hitchcock (Carolina), TE Andrew Glover (New Orleans), DE Chris Doleman (retired).

Key additions for 2000: QB Bubby Brister (Broncos), DE Bryce Paup (Jaguars), LB Craig Sauer (Falcons)

Rookies to watch: Defensive tackle Chris Hovan (Boston College), the team's first-round draft choice, had a brief holdout before signing. The two second-round picks, Fred Robbins and Mike Boireau, are also backups on the defensive line. Like several Vikings players, including John Randle, fourth-round draft choice Antonio Wilson, a linebacker, is from NCAA Division II (Texas A&M-Commerce). Receiver Troy Walters (Stanford), the fifth-round selection, is the Pacific-10 Conference's career leader in receiving. However, he is just 5-feet-7.

Offensive line: Christy and McDaniel are gone, but the Vikings still have tackles Todd Steussie and Korey Stringer. Steussie, a former Pro Bowl selection, sounds as if he has something to prove after an inconsistent season last year. After shedding weight, Stringer has become a solid player and looks to get better this season. Matt Birk takes over for Christy. Guards Corbin Lacina and David Dixon are listed as starters for now, with Brad Badger competing for time.

Wide receivers/tight ends: Carter is on his way to the Hall of Fame. Moss is a Pro Bowl player and marketing star who dabbled in basketball during the offseason. Matthew Hatchette from Langston University appears to be a capable replacement for Reed as the No. 3 receiver. He had an 80-yard touchdown reception last season. Walters has been impressive. Andrew Jordan and Carlester Crumpler are battling for the starting job to replace Glover at tight end.

Running backs: It's critical for the Vikings that Robert Smith stays healthy and effective. He missed three games last season after surgery for a hernia. Still, he rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the third consecutive season. He's entering the last year of his contract and will likely break Chuck Foreman's team record for career yards. Converted tight end Jim Kleinsasser is the fullback.

Quarterbacks: Culpepper is big, but he can run, giving the Vikings another dimension to the offense. New coordinator Lewis will try to ease his transition to a starting role with more passes to backs and tight ends. Brister, 38, comes from Denver to be the backup. The third quarterback, Todd Bouman from St. Cloud State and an NFL Europe regular, is waiting for a chance to prove himself in the NFL.

Defensive line: Defensive tackle John Randle leads a position with lots of depth, but the quality is still a question. For some reason, the Vikings used their first three draft choices for defensive linemen -- Hovan, Robbins and Boireau. They also brought in Paup, hoping he can become a pass rushing force again.

Linebackers: The Vikings shuffled the existing linebackers to new positions. Kailee Wong moves to the middle, Ed McDaniel to the weak side and Dwayne Rudd to the strong side. The move is supposed to take advantage of Rudd's abilities in coverage and Wong's size. Craig Sauer has been slowed by a foot injury but is expected to be the fourth linebacker.

Secondary: Let's just say the Vikings haven't done much to make new Tampa Bay receiver Keyshawn Johnson uncomfortable at his new home in the NFC Central. One cornerback, Robert Tate, is a converted receiver who started on defense at the end of last season. The other, Kenny Wright, is in his second season. Hard-hitting Robert Griffith is a star at strong safety. Free safety Orlando Thomas had an injury-filled season last year. He's hanging on to the memory of having led the NFL in interceptions as a rookie in 1995.

Special teams: Veteran Gary Anderson is hoping to put the problems of last season -- on the field and in his family life -- behind him. The Vikings are hoping that will help him return to the form he has usually displayed in an 18-year career. Punter Mitch Berger made the Pro Bowl and signed a big contract during the offseason as a result.