Zygi Wilf did the deed and showed Brad Childress the door this morning. Leslie Frazier can now add “interim head coach” to the résumé he distributes to owners each off-season before they decide to go in another direction. The new man in charge will address the media later this afternoon. He could take the opportunity to bench Brett Favre indefinitely, but he probably won’t, because that would be way too awesome.

BREAKING NEWS THAT YOU PROBABLY HEARD ALREADY: Roger Goodell has informed Ben Roethlisberger that he will be suspended for the first six games of the regular season. Additionally, Ben will have to undergo “comprehensive behavioral evaluation,” which seems a bit redundant when you recall that Dr. Klis of the Denver Post already diagnosed Ben with Dead Mom Complex. But hey, knock yourselves out, accredited mental health professionals. [ESPN]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Minnesota Vikings trainer today visited with former vice presidential candidate and outgoing Alaska governor Sarah Palin, touching off a swirl of rumors that the NFL franchise is planning to sign the politician to compete for the starting quarterback job in training camp with Brett Favre.

“At this time, no contract has been offered to Gov. Palin,” said Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. “I am not able to speculate on whether that will or will not occur. Like most teams, we are merely trying to gauge what, if any, ability she has to quarterback on the professional level.”

The political world was shocked when Palin announced on July 3 that she would step down as governor of Alaska midway through her first term in office. While experts have cited mounting legal debts as the reason behind her resignation, aides close to Palin have said she paid close attention to the way the Vikings organization bent over backwards in recent months to accommodate another useless media whore.

Said one aide who wished not be named, “It became readily apparent to her that the Vikings were willing to put up with a lot more shit than the GOP. And that was very enticing to her.”

During the press conference in which she announced her resignation, Palin drew criticism for employing an awkward analogy drawing from her days playing high school basketball. According to an unnamed staffer “that basketball analogy, while a little mangled, was politically calculated. It threw everyone off of the deal she was really trying to broker: becoming starting quarterback for an NFL team. Really, she wanted to say she was like a quarterback handing the governorship off to a running back, not unlike how one would hand off to Adrian Peterson. But that would tip her hand.”

The timing of the signing would be sensitive, coming as it does the same week that reports surfaced that Favre has already put a $30,000 deposit on a condo in a suburb of Minneapolis. While an offer to Palin is expected to be forthcoming in the next few days, a counter ploy for attention from Favre seems just as likely. Whatever form it will come in – hunger strike, zeppelin attack, angry jeans commercial – is unclear.

Favre was not able to be reached for comment, even by Peter King, who has at press time left at least three dozen teary voicemail messages for Favre seeking reaction. One was obtained by a reporter.

“Brett! BRETTY BOY! It’s Pistol Pete. I know, I know, I enjoying a good walk around Boston when this news comes on my Twitter. WHEN WILL YOU GET THE TWITTER!? Okay. Breathe with me. We’re gonna get through this. You… YOU NEED TO CALL ME BACK! I’m gonna do something rash. I know it. SHE WANTS TO TAKE YOUR JOB! I WANT TO DIP HER ORGANS IN MY COFFEE! Tell me it’s gonna be okay because RIGHT NOW I’m not really believing it. BRETTY BOY!”

Meanwhile, other Vikings players reacted ambivalently to the news.

“She’s a chick, so that’s different. But would it change much? Not really,” said defensive end Jared Allen. “I mean, Brett Favre is already a psychodramatic twat demon. We’re prepared either way.”

Added Allen: “I’d probably bang Palin first though. I don’t know. We’ll see how it plays out.”

I’ll believe it when the police find Peter King’s bloated corpse hanging from the rafters.

UPDATE: Favre’s bro tells Mississippi newspaper it’s true.

I have a friend in Indianapolis, and we were discussing the oddities of Tony Dungy’s reluctant return to coach the Colts in 2008. I think “reluctant” is a fair characterization after Bob Irsay installed a slew of unique perks into Dungy’s deal, in terms of time away from the team. As incentive to return, Dungy was granted permission to spend four months in Tampa during the offseason, plus Friday nights during the season to watch his son play high school ball. You know, the one that didn’t kill himself.

My friend, who we’ll call “Jamie,” she and I agreed to as much when she brought the following to my attention (emphasis mine):

I can only imagine [Dungy] wanted to walk – quickly. But we have a new stadium to fill around these parts, and I can’t imagine they were going to let him go prior to its opening season. I do expect him to be gone immediately following. Assuming the thing is completed by the time the season starts. They are WAY behind. I was talking to our former city attorney (our mayor was ousted, so he goes too) on Monday, and he said the roof [is] set wrong. Small detail of a design flaw, so the roof physically will not open or close. Along with a laundry list of other problems, I’d be willing to bet not a single preseason game is played there. Who says we don’t know what we’re doing around here?

To be fair, Jamie can’t bet for shit, but that doesn’t ncessarily discount her inside information. Besides, it’s only 1986 in Indianapolis right now, so they still have 22 years to finish everything on time.