by Sports Xchange

He reportedly will make between $4 and $5 million a season after making about $2 million a year under the terms of a five-year deal he signed in 2006.

That contract had another season left on it after this one but discussions about an extension between Childress' agent, Bob LaMonte, and Vikings ownership had been ongoing in recent months.

There were some who wondered why the Vikings wouldn't wait until after the season to make this move, given that such a move would enable owners Zygi and Mark Wilf to see what type of success Childress had in the posteason.

But Childress and the Wilfs have always gotten along very well and the fact the Vikings are sitting at 8-1 and headed toward a second consecutive NFC North title was enough to sell them. So was the fact that Childress was instrumental in bringing in Brett Favre in mid-August.

That move caused Childress to be criticized by some, given that the Vikings already had broken training camp in Mankato, but it has turned out better than anyone could have expected. Through nine games, Favre leads the NFL in passer rating and has 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

"I am grateful for the opportunity that I was given," Childress said when asked about the Wilfs. "I have a good group of guys in the locker room, which I've said over and over. I've got a great ownership group, who not only am I grateful for them, but they've been good owners from the standpoint of empowering us with players.

"They listen, there is a good dialogue, there is good communication. I don't know what it's like to be an owner, they don't know what it's like to be a head football coach, but there's a pretty good repartee that goes on between us and I'm grateful for that communication."

--RB Adrian Peterson became the fastest Viking and the fourth-fastest player in NFL history to reach 4,000 career rushing yards when he ran for 133 yards last Sunday against Detroit. Peterson has 4,018 rushing yards in 39 career games. Chuck Foreman had held the team mark, getting to 4,000 rushing yards in his 57th game.

--Pro Bowl LG Steve Hutchinson spent the first five years (2001-05) of his career with the Seahawks before jumping to the Vikings as a free agent in 2006. Hutchinson signed a controversial seven-year, $49 million deal with Minnesota when the Seahawks put the transition tag on him and not the more-restrictive franchise tag. The Vikings included a poison pill in the deal that made it virtually impossible for Seattle to match the offer.

--QB Brett Favre will reach 500 career touchdowns (rushing and passing) with five more TDs. With one passing touchdown, Favre would move into a second-place tie with Jeff George and Warren Moon for the most passing scores in his first season with the Vikings. Favre has 17 passing TDs this season.

--Favre was a teammate of Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck during the latter's first three seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers (1998-2000).

--Favre has played against Seattle twice in the postseason. In 2003, he led a comeback victory over the Seahawks in the first round as he threw for 319 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. In 2007, he threw three touchdowns and no interceptions in the divisional round.

--DE Jared Allen got his lone career interception off Seneca Wallace against Seattle on Oct. 29, 2006, while with the Kansas City Chiefs.

--RB Chester Taylor had the longest play from scrimmage in franchise history with a 95-yard touchdown run on Oct. 22, 2006, in Seattle. Taylor finished the game with a career-high 169 yards rushing, which is tied for the eighth best single-game performance.

--In the Vikings' four victories in the series, they have never surrendered more than 21 points and gave up an average of 15.5 points.

BY THE NUMBERS: 34 -- Sacks for the Vikings defense this season, the most in the NFL.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's real big, especially for the receivers. The past couple of years all the talk has been about the receivers. How we weren't able to produce and things like that. We just took it upon ourselves to do the extra work to get better as receivers and make this team a more balanced team." -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice, who leads the NFC with 786 receiving yards, on the importance of the Vikings' offense becoming a more balanced attack this season.