Minnesota's elevation of the soft-spoken but well-respected Frazier from defensive coordinator to head coach is the move that most intrigues me. After all, once upon a time, Tony Dungy was the Vikings defensive coordinator, and so too was Mike Tomlin. Both of those guys got away from Minnesota, landed their first NFL head coaching jobs, and made the Vikings regret not knowing they had Super Bowl-winning head coaches beneath their noses. When Brad Childress floundered and was eventually fired last season, Minnesota made sure not to let history repeat itself.
"I think it was a great move, because a couple years ago we missed out on a real good coach in Mike Tomlin, and we didn't want to let that happen again,'' said Minnesota veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield, a Viking since 2004. "[Frazier] has been here four or five years, he knows the personnel, and I think he's well-prepared to take that next step. He's going to do a great job for us.''
Dungy-esque is a very apt description for Frazier in terms of his coaching style and his personal comportment. You're not going to see Frazier slamming a headset down on the sideline this season, a la Rex Ryan, or hear a string of sound bites come tripping from his tongue in the manner of the talkative Raheem Morris in Tampa Bay. Frazier and Dungy are close friends, with mirror personalities and the same calming approach to the role of coaching leadership at the NFL level.
"They have the same demeanor,'' Winfield said of Dungy and Frazier, who coached defensive backs on Dungy's staff in Indianapolis in 2005-2006, earning a Super Bowl ring. "He's very quiet, but we all know he's about his business. We respect that. When he walks into the room, it's quiet. There's no talking to the guy next to you. All eyes are on him, and you listen to every word he says. He deserves that respect.''
Suffice to say the sometimes dictatorial Childress didn't engender the same reaction in his own locker room, especially once last season started going down in flames. And if you think it doesn't matter how NFL players feel about their head coach, then you haven't been paying attention to the dynamic of loyalty Ryan has created with his Jets, or the vise grip that Bill Belichick has on his Patriots locker room. When players respect or admire a head coach, they want to play for him, and they want to win for him. Who couldn't use that edge?