COLUMBUS — Leslie Frazier leaves a wake of success everywhere he goes.
The Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator from Columbus recently took his team to the NFC Championship game, prompting the Mississippi legislature to honor him Tuesday with a formal congratulations and asking him to address the House of Representatives.
Since he was in the state, naturally, he came home. Since he was home, naturally, he reached out.
Frazier visited with special-needs individuals from Columbus Community Programs, a division of the Ellisville State School. Before signing autographs he delivered a simple message: “I just want to encourage you to be the best you can be.”
Mayor Robert Smith, who coached Frazier in football at Lee High School, says the two-time Super Bowl champ — once as a player with the Chicago Bears in 1985 and again as a coach with the 2006 Indianapolis Colts — has always encouraged others to maximize their potential.
“He was a tremendous. Always encouraging and telling guys to do their best and leave it all on the field,” said Smith. “He was a quiet leader, but he could get his point across. The other team members knew when he meant business.”
Connie Tilley, director of Columbus Community Programs, and the individuals in attendance to meet Frazier knew he meant business, too, as Frazier took the time to meet and sign an autograph for everybody who wanted one.
“It”s very important to us for somebody of his importance to spend time encouraging individuals in our program and telling them ”You can do anything you want to do. It”s just a matter of determination,”” said Tilley.
Frazier credits the community support he received growing up in Columbus with instilling within him the need to give back.
“Even as a kid, my being involved in the YMCA, which became the Boys and Girls Club, and seeing the impact that had, playing little league baseball and seeing people invest in my life who had their own kids, my coaches. As I grew older it reminded me that, if you do achieve anything, give back. To come back and try to encourage others,” said Frazier. “It was always inside my mind that if I ever had a chance to encourage someone, I would do that. The stature and success I”ve had as an athlete and now as a coach gives you a pedestal that you wouldn”t have otherwise.”
Frazier is accustomed to being the one doing the recognizing, which is why it was odd for him to find himself in front of the House of Representatives Tuesday.
“From growing up in Columbus to standing there addressing the people that make the rules and laws for our state, it was a weird feeling, but a special feeling,” said Frazier.
Success has been a constant in Frazier”s life since his time as a starting defensive back and running back with Lee High, which Smith says never did much better than a 6-4 record while Frazier was playing.
He was an All-American defensive back and All-SWAC baseball player at Alcorn State University prior to his pro playing years from 1981-1986. Frazier led the Bears in interceptions 1983-1985, but injured his knee in Super Bowl XX, cutting his career short.
As a coach, Frazier helped found the football team at Trinity International University, where the field was named for him in 1997, before moving on to the University of Illinois.
He jumped to coaching in the NFL in 1988 and worked his way up to defensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2003 and 2004. He coached defensive backs for the Colts during their Super Bowl run in 2006 before moving to the Vikings as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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