Frazier was the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach from 2011 to 2013.
According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports , former Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier was in Green Bay for two days last week following his time at the NFL’s Accelerator Program. The Accelerator Program is designed to prep minority and women coaches through “leadership development and networking opportunities .” Each NFL team sent at least one coach with the Green Bay Packers being represented by passing game coordinator Greg Williams.
Coaches in attendance ranged from new hires who just transitioned from the college game to former head coaches like Anthony Lynn, Willie Taggart and Frazier. Prior to becoming the head coach for the Vikings, Frazier was the assistant head coach of the 2006 Indianapolis Colts , who won the Super Bowl that year. From there. Frazier was hired as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, which then led to a promotion to assistant head coach and later simply head coach. Since his time in Minnesota, he’s been the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and most recently the Buffalo Bills , where he held the role from 2017-2022 — along with the assistant head coach title since 2020.
Frazier, in a surprising move, stepped away from the Bills this offseason, leading to many analysts speculating that the 64-year-old would retire from the sport until an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer set the record straight . According to Frazier, his goal is to be a head coach and he’s going to spend his “time off” to visit friends around the league while he tries to build a case for himself during the next hiring window. As Anderson noted, Frazier also spent time with the Washington Commanders, following the Accelerator Program, and is set to visit the New York Giants , too.
Beyond Frazier’s head coaching ambitions, though, the elephant in the room is that the Packers might be in the mix for a new defensive coordinator next January, a role that Frazier could fill — if things don’t pan out for him on the head coaching front. As we’ve all noticed over the years, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur typically brings in coaches he has ties to in some way and now Frazier has been added to the list.
When offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett left for the Denver Broncos last offseason, Adam Stenavich was promoted from offensive line coach and former assistant offensive line coach Luke Butkus was made the led offensive line coach. Defensively, LaFleur hired coordinator Joe Barry, who LaFleur had spent time with during their run together with the Los Angeles Rams , after Mike Pettine was fired. Williams, the Packers’ new passing game coordinator, had previously worked with Barry with the San Diego Chargers .
Last season, the Packers made the mid-season addition of analyst Aubrey Pleasant, who had previously worked with both LaFleur and Barry with the Rams and Washington Redskins, when the former Lions passing game coordinator was fired from Detroit. In 2023, Green Bay added analyst Tim Lester, who recently was the head coach of Western Michigan — his alma mater. During his college days, LaFleur was a backup quarterback to Lester at WMU.
If Barry is moved on from after the 2023 season, don’t be surprised if Frazier ends up on a short list of names that are candidates to be the next Packers defensive coordinator. If trends continue, LaFleur will want someone familiar in the foxhole with him and Frazier’s short visit to Green Bay could have provided some answers to questions he had.
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