At a Glance
Dean met his wife Donna in beautiful Lake Geneva , Wisconsin while he was a crewman for the Gage Marine Tour Boats and she was a lifeguard. A friend told them they would be a good match. When they first met, he gave her a ride home and they ended up talking for hours. While she was hoping for a good night kiss - he decided not to try -and it ended up getting him a 2nd date. Love blossomed that summer. They dated the last two years of college and he proposed on a Christmas Eve. That was the beginning of 19 wonderful years of marriage. When Dean saw the birth of his son Devon , it was incredible and he realized how this was going to change his world. With the addition of Davis, life for the Dalton family was even better. Dean says the key to raising kids is communication and spending quality time with them. He focuses on listening and encouraging. His two boys, Devon and Davis, like to have "man time" just with Dad. That gives Dean a chance to instill trust into the boys. Saturday mornings they come to work with Dean and he puts into practice his mantra , "Do things right, do the right things, and work hard." He also stresses spiritual growth to his boys. They read together every night in the off-season and share what they have learned. Boating is their favorite family activity, along with board games, chess, card games, watching movies, playing catch, skiing and golf. Dean faced an interesting decision when Vikings ownership changed in Minnesota. Should he continue his professional career as an NFL coach and move his family across the country with no guarantees of security and stability or should he stay in Minnesota to allow his two teenage boys the opportunity to finish their high school years with continuity? For Donna and Dean this was an easy decision because they kept the kids as the priority. "The boys were excelling academically, athletically, in extra-curricular activities as well as selecting quality friends to associate with so staying in Minnesota was the right thing to do for them." Dean is able to stay connected with his passion of football as an analyst covering the NFL for ESPN.com, a host of a Sirius NFL Radio show as well as an analyst and host for several television programs on Fox Sports Net including being a weekly co-host for "Sports Wrap" on KSTP - ABC Channel 5 in Minnesota. He and Donna have date nights where they try to find a quiet place to have dinner and just talk. Dean's a busy guy, but not too busy to be there for his wife and kids. And they love him for it.
