and cornerbacks Fred Smoot and Brian Williams. He started in the Minnesota Vikings' season-opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and collected a season-high nine combined tackles, deflected two passes, forces a fumble, and returned an interception for a touchdown during a 24–13 loss. Sharper intercepted a pass by quarterback Brian Griese and returned it for an 88-yard touchdown in the first quarter. He was sidelined for two games (Weeks 3–4) after injuring his quadriceps. On November 13, 2005, Sharper recorded four combined tackles, deflected five passes, made a career-high three interceptions, and returned an interception for a touchdown during a 24–21 win at the New York Giants in Week 10. Sharper intercepted a pass by Giants' quarterback Eli Manning and returned it for a 92-yard touchdown in the first quarter. On December 20, 2005, it was announced that Sharper was selected to the 2006 Pro Bowl. He finished his first season with the Minnesota Vikings with a total of 51 combined tackles (41 solo), 16 pass deflections, tied his career-high of nine interceptions, forced a fumble, and scored two touchdowns in 14 games and 14 starts. 2006 On January 2, 2006, the Minnesota Vikings fired head coach Mike Tice after they finished with a 9–7 record in 2005. On January 6, 2006, the Minnesota Vikings announced the hiring of former Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator Brad Childress as their new head coach. Defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin installed the Tampa 2 defense and chose to move Sharper to strong safety. Head coach Brad Childress named Shaper the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, alongside free safety Tank Williams. Dwight Smith replaced Williams to begin the regular season due to an injury. In Week 8, he collected a season-high seven solo tackles, deflected a pass, and made an interception during a 31–7 loss to the New England Patriots. On November 11, 2006, in a game against the Miami Dolphins, Sharper bumped a member of the officiating crew, but he was not immediately penalized, later the following week the NFL fined him $15,000 for the infraction. On December 17, 2006, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 26–13 loss to the New York Jets in Week 15. He started in all 16 games in 2006 and recorded 67 combined tackles (55 solo), nine pass deflections, four interceptions, and a sack. 2007 On February 8, 2007, the Minnesota Vikings hired Indianapolis