Adversity is going to make Leslie Frazier stronger.
The Columbus native certainly experienced a fair share of setbacks and change in his first full season as head coach of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.
Whether it was losing the first four games of the season, including three when his team led at halftime, losing nine games by seven points or less, changing starting quarterbacks in week seven, losing the franchise running back to a career-threatening knee injury, or firing and/or demoting coaches on his staff, Frazier faced plenty of challenges in one of the NFC’s toughest divisions.
Through it all, though, Frazier felt he learned valuable lessons, and several people surrounding the program believe the former NFL player and assistant coach used the respect he earned from his players to keep the Vikings competitive all the way to the end of a 3-13 season.
After celebrating the one-year anniversary of his hiring as the eighth head coach in team history, Frazier took time earlier this month to reflect on his initial season and to talk about how he plans to build his team into a contender.
“It was a tough season to be in so many games that went right down to the wire and to lose nine games by seven points or less,” said Frazier, who was hired as head coach Jan. 3, 2011, after coaching the final six games of the 2010 season. “It can wear on you after a while, but the way the team continued to fight to the end was encouraging and gives us hope for the 2012 season.”
The offseason hasn’t been quiet for Frazier and the Vikings. Frazier and his assistant coaches left Saturday for Mobile, Ala., where they will coach in the Senior Bowl, which will feature senior All-Stars broken into teams from the North and South. Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and his staff will lead the other team.
Man on defense
Last week, the Vikings hired Alan Williams to be their new defensive coordinator. He spent the past 10 years as defensive backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts.
Frazier shared responsibility for the Colts’ defensive backs for two seasons when he was an assistant coach in Indianapolis. One of those included a Super Bowl victory in the 2006-07 season.
Williams replaces Fred Pagac, who was demoted from defensive coordinator to linebackers coach. Frazier also fired defensive line coach Karl Dunbar after the season.
Injuries and inexperience factored into Minnesota’s problems on defense. A depleted secondary surrendered a NFL-most 34 touchdown passes and had only eight interceptions in 2011.
Frazier hopes he and his assistant coaches can use their time in Mobile, Ala., to identify players they can draft to meet their personnel needs. Since the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams, the teams with the worst records this past season, changed coaches, the coaches of the Vikings and Redskins were left to take on the role of coaching in the next-to-last college football All-Star showcase game of 2012.
“We have a number of areas we need to address: offensive line, the secondary, the wide receiver position,” Frazier said. “We have a number of areas we’re going to try to target at the Senior Bowl as we prepare for the draft (in April) along with NFL free agency.”
Frazier’s positivity came through in his comments about a season that went horribly wrong. Minnesota led 17-7, 17-0, and 20-0 at halftime against San Diego, Tampa Bay and Detroit only to lose all three games. A loss to Kansas City in week four followed before Minnesota defeated Arizona 34-10 on Oct. 9 at home for the team’s first win of the season.
Starting quarterback Donovan McNabb, who the team had acquired in the offseason, started one more game, a 39-10 loss to Chicago on Oct. 16, before the Vikings decided to bench McNabb in favor of former Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder. The Vikings waived McNabb on Dec. 1, 2011.
“Donovan did a great job from a leadership standpoint, and he was doing the best he could to help us win, but we were not able to have much success, so we decided to go with our first-round pick (Ponder) and give him a chance to lead our team,” Frazier said. “Christian did a good job this season. Everything he did this season I think is going to help us going forward. … He had his ups and downs, but we saw enough to believe he is going to be a good quarterback.”
Frazier and the Vikings feel Ponder did enough in his time as quarterback to earn first chance to win the starting job in 2012. Joe Webb, a quarterback sources close to the program say has potential, also will compete for playing time.
New running back?
The Vikings also may have to explore the possibility of bringing in a new running back. Standout Adrian Peterson, who rushed for 970 yards and 12 touchdowns, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and was placed in injured reserve on Dec. 26, 2011. Even though former Stanford University standout Toby Gerhart (531 rushing yards, one touchdown) showed signs he was ready to be a contributor, Frazier said losing Peterson was a costly blow.
“If one guy can battle back from this type of injury it is Adrian,” Frazier said. “He is going to work as hard as he can to be a better or to be as good of a running back as he was before he got hurt.”
Frazier also praised the development of wide receiver Percy Harvin, a former standout at the University of Florida. Harvin had 87 catches for 967 yards and six touchdowns. The next receiver closest to Harvin had 38 catches.
On defense, Frazier said the Vikings will try to build around Jared Allen, who had 22 sacks, and Chad Greenway, who was named to the Pro Bowl. He said his goal is to get back to the aggressive style of defense the Vikings played in the past. To do that, Frazier said it will be crucial for Minnesota to find linemen who can put pressure on the quarterback and spark an aggressive defense.
Building a winner
Frazier believes he and his assistant coaches can address all of those concerns and build a winner in a division that includes the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions, and the Chicago Bears. Green Bay and Detroit made the playoffs this season. He said he relied on his faith in God for strength and the balance it took to weather the ups and downs a head coach in the NFL has to handle.
“That’s what helped me encourage my guys to keep fighting every week and to give the effort necessary to win those games,” Frazier said. “They responded and continued to fight and to play hard. Knowing things were as tough as they were and that they were going to get better, they had to remain faithful to what we were doing.”
Frazier tried to do the same thing during the season and has maintained that attitude in the offseason. He said his focus was to find assistant coaches who are “good teachers” who can help the Vikings move forward as a franchise.
Looking back, Frazier wasn’t sure if there were particular things he could point to that will help make him a better coach and a better teacher. He said he is looking forward to having a full offseason to help establish a plan the Vikings want to follow for 2012. He feels the franchise has the potential to acquire key additions in places of need that will help them be more competitive.
Until the Vikings add those pieces, Frazier will continue to evaluate talent and build on the vision that helped him land his first job as a head coach in the NFL.
“When I look back at 2011, I think a better judge of 2011 will be where we are a year from now and then in our third year,” Frazier said. “I think that will be a better evaluation of what kind of a job I did in 2011. … My goal in taking this job for this organization was to build a football team that can have sustainable success over the years. We’re looking to build a championship caliber football team. As tough a season as we had, there are some things we learned from as a staff that will help us have success in the future.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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