Confirmed: Leslie Frazier agrees to become Vikings head coach

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on January 2, 2011, 2:51 PM EST

The Vikings are struggling in Detroit on Sunday, but interim head coach Leslie Frazier has a reason to smile.

Jay Glazer of FOX reports that Frazier will be back with the team next year as head coach.  Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune confirms that Frazier has agreed to take the job.

Frazier met with Vikings brass for more than five hours on Friday about his future.  It looks like those talks were very productive, and Frazier’s future will be in Minnesota.

Permalink 36 Comments Feed for comments Back to top

36 responses to “Confirmed: Leslie Frazier agrees to become Vikings head coach”

  3. Hopefully they satisfied the (Gerry) Cooney rule and interviewed at least one non-minority candidate.

    Or one of the Gumbel brothers.

  4. Well the Vikings like what they see…….a potential head coach candidate constantly gushing about the aging passer collecting a cool mil per game to be the 33rd rated passer in the NFL. Being subservient to Favre is part of the job description.

  5. Also confirmed, the Vikings will likely finish in last place and will get used to it considering the status of their O line and secondary.

  6. wait…don’t they have to interview any white guys first??? there should be a rule.

  9. So let me get this straight. Dallas can’t just say hey Garrett your the new coach next year because your white, and yet the Vikings can say hey Fraizer your the new coach next year, and they can say this because he’s black? Now talk about a double standard.

    If im wrong then feel free to correct me.

  10. Did the Vikes interview any white canidates, or is that not part of the league rules?

  11. @ VikesPrincess (Lisa)

    Hey, Princess, how’s it hangin?

    Do you mean good as in adept? Skillful?

    Or do you mean good as in doing what you are told to do? Not creating a disturbance?

    Happy New Year

  12. i thought you could only name a black successor if you were already black…or tony dungy….wait…is he white too? what was chilly? wait, what?

  13. @stixzidinia..

    What should he do jack a$$? Should he openly rip one of the greatest QB’s to ever play the game? That would be a great decision if he were an idiot of the same caliber as you. He knows he’s not going to be back as the QB next year so he’s paying some respect to a great one.

    @jimmy1smith..

    The Vikings are missing two starting CB’s, they have Frank Walker playing….of course the secondary sucks right now. Another brilliant deduction by the king of rhetoric. They’re missing two starters on the O line too, one of them a pro bowler. Don’t you worry your fat Sconi head. The Vikings will be just fine next year.

  14. idriveamoped says: Jan 2, 2011 3:24 PM

    So let me get this straight. Dallas can’t just say hey Garrett your the new coach next year because your white, and yet the Vikings can say hey Fraizer your the new coach next year, and they can say this because he’s black? Now talk about a double standard.

    If im wrong then feel free to correct me.
    ________________________
    You got some of it right but the Vikings still had to interview a minority candidate even though Frazier is or ready one. I could be wrong also but this what I heard on Sports Center.

  15. Should have to interview a non minority candidate if you have to interview a minority one. It’s only fair… Isn’t that what people complain about? They just want a FAIR shot?

  16. @jimmy1smith (aka 2nd coming of Sean Salisbury)

    Again, he’s the smartest guy in the room after the fact. Thanks Jimmy for the heads up. What a mental giant!!

  17. This is not the right direction for a team that is going down in flames. It is like throwing gasoline on a car wreck. They suck with virtually no hope of improving for a couple years.

  18. Typical Wilfs. Premature once again
    I like Frazier and it looks like he’s the real deal, but what is the freaking hurry?
    Should have hired a GM first.
    The Wilfs have proved time and again, they are NOT football people.
    Real Estate? yep.
    Managing an NFL team? Nope.

    Stupid move.

  21. Awesome comments posters. Never hurts to repeat the same tiresome shtick as the poster above you – “Double Standard why don’t the Vikings have to interview a White Guy First? Blah Blah”

    Of course, in a league where there there was not a black head coach until 2003(!!!) in a predominantly black league, I’m sure there is a level playing field. If the coaches (positions of authority) were almost all black, and the players were almost all white (who have to do what the coaches tell them) wouldn’t it seem just a little odd to you? But of course if Frazier gets hired it’s a complete outrage – hang in there fellas, keep battling the man!

  22. Now, get the O-line fixed and get Favre back for another year or two and hope you can find a secondary that can stay healthy, and you’re in bidness.

  23. jimmy1smith says: Jan 2, 2011 3:12 PM

    Also confirmed, the Vikings will likely finish in last place and will get used to it considering the status of their O line and secondary.

    ——————

    2 short years ago, 2 years… the Packers had what was considered the most swiss cheese of O-lines in the league. This league isn’t as black and white as you ignorant homers make it out to be.

  24. Who cares if some teams have to interview others and some don’t. Everyone’s going to hire the guy they pick out regardless. Don’t be so offended, they hired Frazier because they wanted him, not to save a half hour’s interview with someone else.

  25. @panther50

    Have you only been watching the nfl since 2003? Dennis Green was named head coach of the Vikings in 1991. Do some research before you post a hot headed response.

  26. @fellorio

    Hey, Princess, how’s it hangin?

    Do you mean good as in adept? Skillful?

    Or do you mean good as in doing what you are told to do? Not creating a disturbance?

    Happy New Year
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Hello Fellorio. It’s “hangin'” fine… even though I don’t have the part that hangs. 🙂

    I mean I hope that he’s good – adept, skillful, strategic, willing to make hard decisions, able to demand accountability, judicious with challenges, careful with the game plan, able to make adjustments at half-time unlike his 2 predecessors.

    I hope he’s strategic and innovative. I hope he thinks outside the box and comes up with creative game plans that can take people by surprise. I hope that he doesn’t get an idea in his head and then never budge from his original position even when new evidence suggests he should (i.e. Chilly & T Jack).

    I hope he’s a steady leader who can motivate the team and shepherd them though adversity. He has practice now.

  27. The Rooney Rule, established in 2003, requires National Football League teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations opportunities. The rule is named for Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the chairman of the league’s diversity committee, and indirectly the Rooney family in general, due to the Steelers’ long history of giving African Americans opportunities to serve in team leadership roles. It is often cited as an example of affirmative action.

    I thought that a certain number of minority candidates need to be interviewed regardless of Fraziers race in order to satisfy the Rooney Rule.

    Apparently, if you read the fine print, there are two exceptions to the Rooney Rule and Frazier falls into one of those exceptions.

    The rule does not apply if an assistant coach has language in his contract guaranteeing him the head coaching job in case of an opening. For example, this was the case when Mike Martz took over as head coach of the St. Louis Rams before the 2000 season. Also, the rule does not apply if the assistant coach taking over the head position is a minority, as was the case with Mike Singletary and the San Francisco 49ers in late 2008.

  29. “Have you only been watching the nfl since 2003? Dennis Green was named head coach of the Vikings in 1991. Do some research before you post a hot headed response.”

    Follow your own advice:

    Fritz Pollard – Head Coach 1923-1925
    Art Shell – Head Coach 1989 – 1994

    Unless, of course, you have only been watching the NFL since 2003. Still, that shouldn’t excuse your lack of research.

  30. Very classy comments on the Rooney Rule guys. In a league that is predominantly black you guys seem to be missing the point of the rule. Power should not rest in only white coaches. You sound like Rush Limbaugh with his comments about black quarterbacks. Obtuse then and obtuse now.

  32. @ mookiest… Just pointed out about having one before 2003, don’t get your thong twisted.

  33. Well with people like “jmclarkent” and “therealjcannon” who can hide behind their computer screens and share their true feelings it’s nice to see that racism is truly alive and well in our country. My, what progress we’ve made! Pretty sure you wouldn’t make those comments to an African American regardless of how un-racist you THINK you are.

    Anyway, I don’t totally understand the negativity behind the Frazier hire. Who did we expect, Tuna??? Ya think Cowher was pounding on Zygi’s door? Also, from a pure coaching/managing standpoint, let’s not forget that Brad Childress was the orchestrator of the 53-man roster. He had control over this team which also leads me to believe he likely had quite a bit of say in the draft war rooms over the years. This debacle of a season is not Frazier’s fault alone (given that the defense didn’t consistently play up to par).

    3-3 is not necessarily indicative of how Frazier’s tenure will be with the Vikings. Let the man work it out and we’ll see after a few years how he’s done.

  34. jimmy1smith says: Jan 2, 2011 3:12 PM

    Also confirmed, the Vikings will likely finish in last place and will get used to it considering the status of their O line and secondary.
    ——————————————————

    I wonder which will happen first, the Vikings working their way out of the NFC North cellar or you working your way out of your mom’s basement.

  36. I like Frazier, I think he will do well!!

    And the Vikes have not had GM since the Wilf’s took over.

    Also, yes that rule is stupid, and by now it should be revoked. But MN has had both black and white head coaches so I dont think it is a big deal!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.