Minneapolis ? Contrary to what some Vikings fans have contended, Brad Childress does indeed have a brain, and he uses it quite a bit.

Minnesota’s 46-year-old professional football franchise long has been this frozen region’s most popular sports team, and passionate opinions from the public about the coach have flowed freely from that.

So by losing 16 of his first 27 games, while overseeing an offense that was largely boring at best and inept at its worst, Childress has not exactly won over the purple-clad crowd in Minnesota.

His self-described flat-line personality, plus media portrayals of a front office and coaching staff that had become much-less open than the previous regimes, contributed to a wide perception that he was too rigid and aloof.

Well, the message boards are still stocked with “Fire Childress now!” manifestos, but this 51-year-old former psychology major has stuck to his beliefs and found himself in much better standing as tonight’s game against Chicago approached.

The Vikings (7-6) are in control of the NFC’s final playoff spot after four straight well-rounded victories.

It’s quite a contrast from one month ago when they were whipped by rival Green Bay and it looked like Childress was on the verge of losing control of his team.

“There’s always more buy-in when you’re winning,” Childress said. “I think they all understand that there’s a method to the madness. It’s not oppressive. They understand where we’re trying to go.

“We’re not coaching to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to run through a wall four times a day.’ How come? So you always explain it and say, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do.’ I rely on the leadership to be able to be strong enough to say, ‘Hey Coach, what about this?”‘