Professional Biography
Entering his 2nd season with the Minnesota Vikings, Leslie Frazier was named Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator for the 2008 campaign. His role will expand to include additional administrative tasks along with leading the Vikings defense.
Combining a proven track record of winning as a player and a coach, Frazier joined the Vikings in 2007, mere days after winning Super Bowl XLI with the Indianapolis Colts. The Super Bowl title was the 2nd for Frazier, his 1st coming as a starting CB with the 1985 Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX. Frazier enters his 10th season as an NFL coach in 2008 and has another 11 years of collegiate coaching experience. In his 9 seasons as an NFL coach, Frazier has suffered a losing season only once- his 1st season with Philadelphia in 1999.
In his debut season with the Vikings the team maintained its dominance against the run, posting the #1 rush defense in the NFL and allowed a mere 3.1 yards per carry. The anchors of the Vikings defense- DTs Kevin Williams and Pat Williams were joined by S Darren Sharper as Pro Bowl honorees in 2007, the most defensive Vikings to earn trips to Hawaii since 1992.
Frazier’s defense was opportunistic, scoring on 6 interception returns to tie a Vikings record and added a pair of TDs on fumble recoveries. The Vikings’ 6 scores by interception return ranks tied for 5th-most in a season in NFL history. The team scored on 3 interceptions in a key road game against the NY Giants to set a team record against the eventual Super Bowl XLII champions. The Vikings tied for 3rd in the NFL in 2007 by allowing only 7 rushing TDs and were 5th in the NFC in total offensive points allowed, an average of 17.8 points per game.
The Vikings defense responded to new faces and new positions with impressive performances in 2007. The team was led in tackles by MLB E.J. Henderson’s career-high 155 tackles in his 1st season playing MLB since 2004. Henderson added a career-best 4.5 sacks and led the team with a career-best 14 tackles for loss while earning Pro Bowl alternate honors and garnered All-Pro votes. The Vikings LBs entered 2007 with only SLB Ben Leber playing his same position from the previous year. One of the most impressive individual performances came from 2nd-year WLB Chad Greenway, who missed his 2006 rookie season with a knee injury but came back in 2007 to rank 2nd on the team with 130 tackles, led the NFL with 4 fumble recoveries and had a pair of interceptions, including scoring his 1st career TD.
The 2007 Vikings rush defense was the envy of the NFL, allowing 74.1 yards per game on the ground. The Vikings allowed 1 opponent back to break the 100-yard mark and held some of the NFL’s best runners in check, including limiting 2007 NFL rushing king LaDainian Tomlinson to 40 yards. The Vikings limited Chiefs star Larry Johnson to 42 yards and Eagles 1,300-yard man Brian Westbrook to 46 yards.
Frazier came to Minnesota after coaching DBs with Indianapolis and serving as Special Assistant to Head Coach Tony Dungy for 2 seasons. The 2006 Colts defense clamped down on opponents throughout the playoff run that brought the franchise its 1st Super Bowl title since 1970. The team notched 7 interceptions, 8 sacks and took away 6 fumbles. The Indy defense allowed only 2 second-half TDs in the 4 post-season games and held the Bears out of the end zone for the final 3 quarters of Super Bowl XLI en route to the win.
In his 1st season with Indianapolis in 2005, Frazier helped S Bob Sanders earn a berth in the Pro Bowl in his 1st season as a full-time starter and became the 1st Colts DB to play in the game since 1971. The Colts ranked 11th in the NFL in total defense for the season after ranking 29th overall in 2004 and improved in yards allowed per game from 370.6 per game to 307.1.
Prior to his tenure with Indianapolis, Frazier served as defensive coordinator with Cincinnati in 2003 and ’04 where he helped the Bengals go .500 in consecutive seasons for the 1st time in 12 seasons. Frazier’s NFL coaching debut came from 1999-2002 with Philadelphia where he worked with the Eagles DBs while Vikings’ Head Coach Brad Childress worked on the offensive side of the ball. While with the Eagles, Frazier helped CB Troy Vincent earn 4 Pro Bowl berths, S Brian Dawkins went to the game 3 times and Bobby Taylor appear in the all-star game once. The trio all earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2002. Frazier was part of an impressive program-building project in Philadelphia that saw the team improve from a 5-11 record in 1999 to 11-5 in 2000, 11-5 in 2001 and 12-4 in 2002. The team won advanced to the playoffs in each of the final 3 seasons Frazier was with the Eagles, including winning the NFC East in 2001 and ’02 and advancing to the NFC Championship game in both seasons.
Frazier had spent 11 seasons coaching at the collegiate level before returning to the NFL. In 1997 and ’98 he worked with the DBs at Illinois on Ron Turner’s staff, who Frazier would face 10 seasons later in the Super Bowl. The staff was part of an impressive rebuilding project with the Illini, going 0-11 in 1997 before winning a bowl game in 1999.
Building programs was not unusual for Frazier before going to Illinois and the Eagles. He started the Trinity College football program from the ground up as the school started a football team with Frazier as head coach in 1988. Frazier turned the team into a winner, claiming Northern Illinois Intercollegiate Conference titles twice. The school, now known as Trinity International University, named the football field in Frazier’s honor in 1997 in honor of his impact on the campus.
As a player, Frazier was part of the legendary Chicago Bears defense that keyed the Super Bowl XX win over New England. He was a starter at CB on the 1985 Super Bowl team and played for the Bears from 1981-86. He led Chicago in interceptions in 1983, ’84 and ’85 but his career was cut short by a severe knee injury suffered in the Super Bowl. During his career he had 20 interceptions in 65 games and returned a pair for TDs. Frazier was an All-America DB and standout baseball player at Alcorn State University. In 2007, Frazier was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame.
Frazier (4/3/59) was born in Columbus, MS and attended Columbus High School. He and wife Gale have 3 children- Kieron, Chantel and Corey. He holds a degree in business administration and was active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes throughout his playing career.
NFL History
1999-2002...... Philadelphia Eagles............... DBs
2003-04.......... Cincinnati Bengals................. Defensive Coordinator
2005-06.......... Indianapolis Colts................... Special Asst. to Head Coach/DBs