Minnesota Vikings’ owner Zygi Wilf didn’t waste any time in shaking up his team when the season came to an end for the purple and gold on New Year’s Day.I just hope he’s equally efficient discarding some of the underachieving players who helped make the 9-7 campaign another mediocre one.I wasn’t naive enough to think Coach Mike Tice would be offered a new contract after four less than stellar seasons at the helm of the Vikings’ ship. At the same time, I didn’t think he would be canned less than one hour after Sunday’s 34-10 win over Chicago.Still, Wilf made his decision with little haste, and I can’t argue with his choice to dump the head coach. Tice simply didn’t get the job done.During a press conference on Monday, Tice said he was proud of the fact that Minnesota and Seattle are the only two NFC teams to finish with a .500 or better record in each of the last three seasons.As an avid Vikings fan, I can’t remember being proud of any Minnesota team in the last three years. With 9-7, 8-8 and 9-7 records, we were no better than an average team in what has been the NFL’s weakest conference this decade.While Tice’s mediocre tenure in Minnesota will not land him in the Hall of Fame, to lay all of the blame on his lap simply isn’t fair. At some point, the players need to be called on the carpet for their lack of play-making ability on the field and their reckless indifference off it.In the wake of the "Love Boat" scandal, it was a tough time to be a Minnesota-backer. The Vikings were the laughing stock of the league, and we, as Minnesotans, were dragged into the mess with every joke cracked by comedians on the late night talk shows.So, if Wilf really wants to shake things up, it’s time to chase the riff-raff out of the Vikings’ locker room.Giving pink slips to the four players (Moe Williams, Bryant McKinnie, Fred Smoot and Daunte Culpepper) with pending misdemeanor charges would be a good start.Williams is nothing more than a third down running back with veteran status. Replacing his name on the roster would be easy.Smoot, who played a role in arranging the ill-fated boat cruise in early October and who talks a better game than he plays (remember when Carolina’s Steve Smith burned the trash-talking cornerback time and time again during a game in late October), would be even easier to replace. I think Brian Williams made more big plays as a reserve cornerback than Smoot ever did when he was healthy.Cutting loose McKinnie as an offensive tackle, or any other members of the offensive line, wouldn’t be a big loss either. I’m kind of sick of watching the defensive ends we play run around McKinnie as if he were buried up to his hips in sand.And then there’s Culpepper, who was anointed the team’s leader when Randy Moss was traded to Oakland the year before.The problem is, there’s a big difference between having someone tell a player he is a leader and actually being one.Instead of making me forget about Randy Moss, Culpepper in his early-season performance (six touchdown passes and 12 interceptions during a 2-5 start) made me long for the return of Wade Wilson.If Wilf truly wants to field a championship team, it’s time to close the book on the Daunte Culpepper era in Minnesota. With No. 11 in line to earn a $10 million dollar bonus for just being on the roster March 1, when will there be a better time than now to let him go.I’m not saying Brad Johnson is the answer at the quarterback position, but he proved he’s more than capable to handle the job for a couple of years while a suitable replacement is found.One thing I learned from this season is that Culpepper (we went 7-2 without him) is not the franchise quarterback some people have billed him to be.Cut him loose, and use the $10 million earmarked for his roster bonus to start rebuilding a lethargic offensive line. If Wilf and the Vikings brass follow that path, we could be playing meaningful January games in as early as next year.