Leslie Frazier lands high-profile job after taking a year off

After a year off, Leslie Frazier will return to an NFL staff. The former Vikings head coach and Bills defensive coordinator will take a job in Seattle. Mike Macdonald is adding the veteran defensive coach to his staff, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero.

Macdonald has counted Frazier as a mentor, per Pelissero. Frazier and Macdonald coached together on the Ravens’ 2016 staff. Set to become the NFL’s youngest active HC, Macdonald will bring in one of the most experienced defensive staffers available. Frazier, 64, will become an assistant head coach in Seattle. Four teams pursued Frazier for an AHC role, according to CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson.

The Chargers and Raiders interviewed Frazier for their HC positions last month, and while he never profiled as a strong candidate to land a top job during this year’s cycle, the veteran staffer certainly makes sense as an assistant. Frazier spent six seasons as the Bills DC, primarily holding play-calling responsibilities. Effectively forced out after last season, Frazier expressed a desire to return to coaching in 2024.

Frazier also interviewed for the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator position. That remains unfilled, pointing to Miami informing the recent AFC East DC he was no longer in the running for the job. With Macdonald set to call plays for the Seahawks, it is worth wondering if he will hire a defensive coordinator or if this Frazier hire will double as a de facto DC appointment.

Macdonald, 36, was not yet a position coach during Frazier’s season in Baltimore. Seattle’s new HC worked as a quality control assistant under Frazier that year; the latter was the team’s DBs coach in 2016. Macdonald took over that job in 2017, following Frazier’s Buffalo exit. Macdonald continued to rise within the Ravens organization. By 2022, both he and Frazier were NFL DCs.

Sean McDermott cut Frazier’s run as Buffalo DC short, moving on from the former NFL DB months before axing OC Ken Dorsey. Like Dorsey, Frazier’s units ranked well statistically. The Bills ranked first and second in scoring defense in 2021 and ’22, respectively, doing so largely without Tre’Davious White‘s services. Frazier’s 2022 defense also lost Micah Hyde early, and Von Miller suffered what looks like a career-altering ACL tear on Thanksgiving 2022. The Bills struggled to stop playoff opposition that year, coming after the terrifying Damar Hamlin situation, and Frazier was out soon after the team’s divisional-round loss to the Bengals. After going without a DC in 2023, McDermott promoted Bobby Babich to fill that role this week.

Going from the NFL’s oldest active head coach (Pete Carroll) to the youngest, the Seahawks now have a 35-year coaching veteran on their staff. Much of that experience came in the NFL. Frazier worked as an NFL staffer from 1999-2022. He went 21-32-1 as a head coach, with the Vikings’ ill-fated Christian Ponder first-round pick being their defining move during that period. Frazier did oversee a Minnesota playoff berth in 2012, when Adrian Peterson stormed to MVP honors. Frazier also served as a DC for the Bengals and Buccaneers during his career.