St, Paul, Minn. ? Former Vikings owner Red McCombs, in his usual flamboyant style, defended himself against criticism leveled by new team owner Zygi Wilf and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

During an interview with James Brown on Sporting News Radio, McCombs said: “I don’t know what Mr. Wilf has been smoking. I have no idea. I know that I turned over to him one of the better sports organizations in the country.”

Wilf was not available for comment Thursday, and McCombs has declined repeated phone calls from the St. Paul Pioneer Press this week. But Gary Woods, president of McCombs Enterprises, told the Pioneer Press on Monday that their reviews from the league were always “positive,” in spite of Wilf’s comments.

“The commissioner emphasized to me that I inherited an organization that was inadequately structured and staffed,” Wilf said Sunday, “and that we must correct that to ensure the highest standards of team operations, including discipline, accountability, strong oversight and internal communications.”

With the Vikings rattled by an investigation of an alleged sex party Oct. 6 on Lake Minnetonka, Wilf has promised to commit himself fully to the Vikings until he gets the organization “back on a sound footing.”

McCombs, who has owned the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs, said he has “been around sports a long time.”

“My reputation speaks for itself,” McCombs said, “and I’d put it up against anybody.”

But throughout McCombs’ tenure, players, coaches and staff officials complained of his frugality, and McCombs took pride in running an organization on a shoestring budget.

During his news conference Thursday, Vikings coach Mike Tice said of the front office, “The margin for error here has been very, very slim because of how slim we were with our staff.

“You have had to make all the right decisions.”

McCombs said he turned over a roster to Wilf that “handicappers were saying had anywhere from the fourth- to sixth-best odds of going to the Super Bowl.”

“The fact is that if the Vikings were 4-1 instead of 1-4, there wouldn’t be a lot of screaming and kicking and pointing fingers,” McCombs said. “They should be 4-1, by the way, instead of 1-4. I don’t know where (Wilf) is coming from.”